The University of Mississippi Athletics
MATCH CENTRAL: No. 10 Rebels Host No. 16 Vanderbilt
3/1/2015 | Men's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. -- The snow has melted and tennis is heating up, as the No. 10 Ole Miss welcomes No. 16 Vanderbilt today in the SEC home opener.
New Format for Matches ...
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.
Last Time Out ...
In the final tune-up before the start of Southeastern Conference play Ole Miss topped No. 62 Tulane 5-2 Friday night. The Rebels were able to come up with the doubles point and singles wins from Nik Scholtz, Gustav Hansson and Zvonimir Babic to clinch their fourth home win and improve to 8-2 overall. Scholtz defeated the No. 14 ranked player in straight sets, and then Hansson finished off his opponent 6-3 in the third at No. 3 singles, setting up Babic to clinch 6-2 in the third at No. 5 singles. Vinod Gowda won at No. 6 singles for the final point of the day.
Scouting Vanderbilt ...
Vanderbilt enters today's match at 10-2 overall and 1-0 in the SEC. They downed Arkansas 4-0 in Fayetteville on Friday. The Commodores are led by Gonzales Austin, who is ranked No. 9 in the nation in singles with a 11-0 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 straight set wins at four and five to go ahead 3-1. That set up Stefan Lindmark, who rallied to defeat Kris Yee 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 singles.
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.
Doubles Point ...
If the Rebels win the doubles point, that generally spells trouble for the opponent. Since the 2002 season, the Rebels are 197-20 when they claim the point. When the Rebels drop the point, they are 43-69 since 2002.
Home Sweet Home ...
Ole Miss is a tough assignment for opponents in Oxford. The Rebels own a 150-27 home record since 2000.
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 today's match with a 16-match home win streak.
Players Mentioned
