The University of Mississippi Athletics
MATCH CENTRAL: No. 10 Rebels to Welcome Tulane
2/25/2015 | Men's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. - Despite winter weather everywhere this week in the South, tennis season is heating up, as the No. 10 Ole Miss men's tennis team gets set to host a pair of teams this weekend, including kicking off Southeastern Conference play.
On Friday, the Rebels will welcome Tulane to the Gillom Sports Center for a 4 p.m. match. Fans will enjoy free pizza between doubles and singles and receive a Ricardo Jorge poster. The Rebels will begin SEC play Sunday against No. 16 Vanderbilt. The match is slated to be outdoors at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, weather permitting, and begins at 1 p.m.
"Tulane is a good team, they have a very good No. 1 player," head coach Toby Hansson said. "They pushed LSU in their most recent match, so we are expecting a battle. We've played many tough matches this year, so we'll be ready. There are no easy matches from now on. We just have to do the things that we can control and be ready to compete."
The Rebels have changed to later starts for their Thursday/Friday matches this year, beginning with Friday's match against Tulane. All the SEC home matches on Thursdays and Fridays will be at 5 p.m.
"We've changed our times this year to start a little later on Thursday's and Fridays, so we can get bigger crowds," Hansson said. "We want to encourage everyone to come out Friday when they get off work and watch some exciting tennis and enjoy free pizza."
Last Time Out ...
Ole Miss posted two convincing wins against Jackson State on Tuesday. In the first match, the Rebels swept the doubles and then won five of the six singles matches for 6-1. In the second match, the Rebels played only two and three doubles and won both before taking the top three singles matches for the 4-0 win.
Scouting Tulane ...
Tulane comes into Friday's match at 9-2 overall and ranked No. 62. The Green Wave is coming off a close 4-3 loss at LSU. They are led by junior Dominik Koepfer, who is ranked No. 14 in the nation. He owns an 18-5 overall record, 7-2 at No. 1 singles.
Series ...
This is the first meeting between the two schools since Feb. 27, 2010. The Rebels swept that match 7-0.
Scouting Vanderbilt ...
On Sunday, the Rebels will face No. 16 Vanderbilt, who plays at Arkansas on Friday. Vanderbilt enters the start of SEC play at 9-2 after wins over Minnesota and Harvard last weekend. The Commodores are led by Gonzales Austin, who is ranked No. 9 in the nation in singles with a 10-0 record. Austin also comprises the No. 1 doubles tandem in the nation with Rhys Johnson.
Series ...
Ole Miss defeated Vanderbilt 4-1 last year in Nashville for their ninth win in the last 10 meetings. The Rebels won the doubles point followed by singles wins at three, four and five.
Top 10 Again ...
In the latest ITA National Rankings, the Rebels moved up to No. 10. The Rebels returned to the top 10 for the first time since ending the 2013 season at No. 10. In the singles rankings, Nik Scholtz is ranked No. 60, Stefan Lindmark is ranked No. 63 and Ricardo Jorge is ranked No. 117.
Did You Know? ...
The Rebels have been ranked in the top 15 in the nation at least once during 21 of the last 22 years.
Double Dip ...
Ole Miss is one of just five schools with both its men's and women's tennis teams in the ITA top 15. The women moved up to No. 15 in the nation.
Fins Up ...
Senior Nik Scholtz, the reigning SEC Player of the Year, owns a pretty good record overall during his career, but he's been quite impressive at home lately. He comes into the weekend with a 15-match home win streak.
Match Scoring Format ...
There are several changes to the format of matches this year. All matches will feature no-ad scoring. Also, there will be no warm-up with the opponent prior to each doubles and singles match.
• Doubles - Each doubles will be first to 6, by two. A regular tiebreaker (first to 7, by two) will be played if a set reaches 6-all.
• Intermission - There will be a five minute break between doubles and singles.
• Singles - Each singles match will be best 2-of-3 sets (first to 6, by two). A regular tiebreaker (first to 7, by two) will be played if a set reaches 6-all.
Live Coverage ...
Fans who are out of town can follow the matches with and the live blog. Also follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMTennis for updates throughout the match.
For more information on Ole Miss Men's Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMTennis, on Facebook at OleMissMTennis and on Instagram at OleMissMTennis.
