The University of Mississippi Athletics
Hansson Makes a Splash in College Tennis
2/6/2015 | Men's Tennis
By Austin Miller, OleMissSports.com
OXFORD, Miss. -- Playing in just his second dual match, freshman Gustav Hansson, last week's SEC Freshman of the Week, keyed a comeback win at No. 13 Florida, as the Rebels rallied from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Gators in the first round of the ITA Kick-off.
With the match tied at 3, Hansson battled Florida junior Gordon Watson to a third-set tiebreaker, breaking him at 6-5 to force the tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, Hansson raced out to a 6-3 lead with two serves to win it, but Watson broke to make it 6-5. With Watson serving to even it up, Hansson won the next point to clinch the match.
"There are no words to describe that match," Hansson said. "It was really amazing. I wasn't that nervous. I was too much into my match I couldn't hear the crowd. Of course, I could hear the Ole Miss guys screaming, but I was so into my match. I realized it more after the match."
Hansson, a native of Karlskrona, Sweden, achieved a career-high No. 99 ranking in the ITF Junior Rankings and was ranked No. 1 in Sweden in juniors. He reached the round of 16 at the Orange Bowl Junior Championships and made the main draw at the Australian Open Junior Championships in 2013.
He also played at the Wimbledon Junior Championships, where he met head coach Toby Hansson for the second time, which led him to sign with Ole Miss in the fall of 2013. He joined the program in the fall of 2014, becoming the 19th player from Sweden to wear the red and blue, a group that includes current players William Kallberg and Stefan Lindmark.
"I know a lot of other Swedes have come here throughout the years," Gustav said. "I talked to some of them, and all of them said how fantastic it is here. I had a friend from my same home club, Claes Lindholm (two-time All-SEC selection for the Rebels). I talked a lot with him, and he said it was great. I didn't even come here to visit. I trusted them. I had no idea what the campus or the town was like, but I knew the tennis program was good."
Toby Hansson, a fellow countryman from Bjarred, Sweden, played collegiately at SMU and served as an assistant coach at Texas Tech and Ole Miss, before succeeding legendary head coach Billy Chadwick after the 2014 season. Along with Kallberg and Lindmark, Toby has had a big impact on Gustav's transition to college tennis, and college life in general, in America.
"We are very excited to have Gustav here at Ole Miss," Toby said. "He is starting to get adjusted to being a student-athlete and also how we do things within the tennis program. I know Gustav can have a bright future here at Ole Miss and beyond."
"It was really good for me the first semester to have someone to talk to and ask questions," Gustav said. "Now, I know everyone on the team. It's still nice to have someone on the team to talk to. Toby's a great coach to talk to, and he's great at analyzing the little things."
For Gustav, college tennis is his first experience in team tennis, aside from representing his native Sweden at the European Team Cup in 2013. He remembers a semifinal match against France, in France, where he played in front of a pretty good crowd, but it did not compare to the crowd in Gainesville, or the other crowds he expects later this season.
"I really like playing in front of a crowd," Gustav said. "I don't have any problem with it. I wouldn't say I'm used to it, but I played some matches like that in Sweden before. This is totally different. The fans here are crazier. I can't wait for the home matches."
Hansson is off to a 2-1 start in dual match play, winning both of his matches at the ITA Kickoff Weekend to earn SEC Freshman of the Week honors. He will get his first opportunity to play in front of the home crowd on Monday against Troy, before competing against some of the nation's best at the ITA National Team Indoor in Chicago (Feb. 13-16).
"Gustav got a taste for what college tennis is all about with our last matches against Florida and South Carolina, and I know he is looking forward to many more matches like that," Toby said. "Rebel tennis fans will enjoy watching him compete over the next four years."
Austin Miller is a writer and blogger for OleMissSports.com. He joined the staff in June 2013 after serving as sports editor of the Daily Mississippian. Follow him on Twitter @austinkmiller
