The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Vanderbilt
No. 10 Rebels down No. 16 Vanderbilt
3/1/2015 | Men's Tennis
Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
OXFORD, Miss. - Rain did not dampen the tennis inside the Gillom Sports Center Sunday, as the No. 10 Ole Miss men's tennis team downed No. 16 Vanderbilt 4-0 in front of an electric crowd in their Southeastern Conference opener.
The Rebels won an exciting doubles point and the top three singles matches, including the clincher from senior Nik Scholtz, to improve to 9-2 overall, 1-0 in SEC play. Vanderbilt fell to 10-3 overall and 1-1 in league play. It also marked the Rebels 10th win in the last 11 meetings against the Commodores.
"It doesn't get any better than that match," head coach Toby Hansson said. "The crowd support was huge, and the guys did a great job of feeding off of it. They lifted us today. It started with the doubles, which gave us great momentum, and then we kept it going."
"We knew it would be a battle," Scholtz said. "It sounds like a blowout, but if you look at the scores, it was real close. The guys were real clutch today. We were able to play the big points well and stayed mentally tough. I am really proud of the guys."
Doubles was as close as you can get. Stefan Lindmark and Zvonimir Babic won 6-3 at No. 2 doubles, and then Vanderbilt, with the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, claimed the top match 6-3.
All eyes then turned to court three where Scholtz and freshman Grey Hamilton were locked in a tight battle. Twice, Hamilton served to stay in the set, and both times held, as they went to a tiebreaker to decide the first point of the match. At 5-5 in the breaker, Hamilton hit a forehand winner down the line and then Scholtz served it out to give the Rebels the 1-0 lead.
"I remember that point," Scholtz said. "I told him `if you hit a good return, I am going to cross at the net,' and I did, but the guy was there and hit it down the line. We communicated well. Grey knew what I was going to do, and he covered. It looked good, but all credit to him, because he still had to execute the shot."
"Grey really showed some guts out there today," Hansson said. "He stayed calm and stayed focused in some big moments for a freshman. He handled himself really well."
Lindmark was all business on Sunday, taking out Rhys Johnson in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 at No. 2 singles to put the Rebels ahead 2-0.
Senior William Kallberg also came up big, winning two tiebreakers at No. 3 singles against Kris Yee to make it 3-0 Rebels. Kallberg dominated the first tiebreaker 7-3. Twice, he served to keep the second set going, and both times he held to get to another tiebreaker. Kallberg trailed 4-1 in the breaker, and ultimately saved three set points to win it 7-6(7).
At that point, the crowd hovered over court one, where Scholtz was leading No. 9 ranked Gonzales Austin 5-3 in the third set. At game point for Austin, Scholtz nailed a running forehand winner and then won the deciding point to clinch the come-from-behind 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 win and the Rebel victory.
"I played a really good player," Scholtz said. "I lost my serve on a deuce point in the first set, but I didn't worry about it too much. I lifted my play in the next two sets and I am really happy with the way it ended. Great day for Ole Miss tennis."
"Stefan played a great match, Willie getting that first tiebreaker was huge, and then Nik closing it out," Hansson said. "Nik really raised his game after the first set. He kind of took it to him in the second and third sets. Great team effort all the way around."
The Rebels return to action Thursday at Mississippi State. The match is slated to begin at 5 p.m.
For more information on Ole Miss Men's Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMTennis, on Facebook atOleMissMTennis and on Instagram at OleMissMTennis.
| #10 Ole Miss 4, #16 Vanderbilt 0 | ||
| Men's Singles Results | ||
| No. 1 | #60 Nik Scholtz (OM) def. #9 Gonzales Austin (VU) | 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 |
| No. 2 | #63 Stefan Lindmark (OM) def. Rhys Johnson (VU) | 6-2, 6-4 |
| No. 3 | William Kallberg (OM) def. Kris Yee (VU) | 7-6(3), 7-6(7) |
| No. 4 | Gustav Hansson (OM) vs. Danny Valent (VU) | 3-5, sus. |
| No. 5 | Vinod Gowda (OM) vs. Suresh Eswaran (VU) | DNP |
| No. 6 | Zvonimir Babic (OM) vs. Baker Newman (VU) | DNP |
| Order of Finish | 2, 3, 1 | |
| Men's Doubles Results | ||
| No. 1 | #1 Austin/Johnson (VU) def. Kallberg/Hansson (OM) | 6-3 |
| No. 2 | Lindmark/Babic (OM) def. Binet/Newman (VU) | 6-3 |
| No. 3 | Scholtz/Hamilton (OM) def. Eswaran/Valent (VU) | 7-6(5) |
| Order of Finish | 2, 1, 3 | |
Players Mentioned
