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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Arkansas
No. 13 Rebels Top Arkansas 4-1
3/12/2015 | Men's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. - In a match that started outside at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center and finished indoors at the Gillom Sports Center, the No. 13 ranked Ole Miss men's tennis team powered past Arkansas 4-1 here Thursday night.
With their 28th straight win in the series, the Rebels improved to 10-4 overall and 2-1 in the SEC. They are off until next weekend, when they host Auburn and Florida.
The Rebels won the doubles point and got two huge three-setters from Gustav Hansson and Stefan Lindmark, before freshman Zvonimir Babic finished off Arkansas' Juan Marino 6-4, 6-1 at No. 5 singles to clinch the win.
"The doubles point was huge in giving us a big lift early," head coach Toby Hansson said. "Even though we were down in some singles matches all the guys were battling, and I felt confident that we could turn them around. We took two of the top three singles and that set the tone. We would like to thank the fans who waited out the delays with us and came indoors to see the finish. They made a huge difference in the outcome."
Nik Scholtz and Zvonimir Babic won 6-1 at No. 1 doubles, and then Gustav Hansson and Stefan Lindmark took out Jovan Parlic and Gimy Micolani 6-4 at No. 2 to clinch the early 1-0 lead for the Rebels.
Arkansas (11-7, 1-3) won the first set at one, three and six, while Ole Miss claimed the first set at four and five before play was suspended for light rain. After another delay, the match was moved indoors. Once inside, Parlic served out his first set against Lindmark at No. 2 to give the Razorbacks four first sets.
Before play was stopped outside, Hansson got off to a 3-1 lead in the second against Razorback William Albanese. Once play resumed indoors, Hansson held out to win the second set 6-2 and then gained an early break in the third and won it 6-3 to give the Rebels a 2-0 lead.
"He had me exactly where he wanted me in the first set, he played much better," Gustav said. "In the second and third sets I just tried to keep the ball in play and fight for every point, and it turned out pretty well.
"I am so happy for Zvonimir, because he's been a little unlucky this spring. He's had a tough start, so it was great to see him finish it off. This is a great win for us. The team spirit is really good right now, and it's nice to see everybody step up when we are a missing a player."
The Reigning SEC Player of the Year, Scholtz had his 18-match home win streak snapped by Micolani. Micolani won the first set outdoors 6-2, but indoors, Scholtz was able to regroup and take the second set 6-2. Serving 3-4 in the final set, Scholtz was broken and Micolani served it out 6-3 to get the Razorbacks on the board.
That would be it though, as Lindmark finished off his comeback against Parlic, winning the second set 6-3. He too got an early break and managed to hold his serve at 4-3 and then break Parlic for the 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win to make it 3-1 Rebels.
"I wasn't really feeling it outside, and he was frustrating me," Lindmark said. "He's the type of player that doesn't give you anything for free, so I knew it was going to be a long and tough match. When we moved indoors, I knew I could finish him off quicker and end the points quicker. I have to thank the crowd, everybody cheering to the absolute max really helped."
"Stefan didn't play his best match, but he kept fighting and was able to turn it around," Toby Hansson said. After a difficult start to his match, Gustav was able to gather himself and get us going once we moved indoors. I have to credit all the guys for responding to adversity. When things don't go your way, you have to respond the right way and compete harder, and they all did that."
All eyes then turned to Babic who was leading 5-1 and serving for the match. He served out a 6-4, 6-1 win against Marino for his first clinch in a Rebel uniform. Afterwards he talked about waiting out the delays and then having to wait longer to go on court to finish.
"I was mentally prepared to go inside, because we knew there was a chance of rain," he said. "After we came indoors, the guys started playing much better and we got the momentum back. At that point I was excited to go back on the court and play my best tennis. I am glad I was able to finish it off quickly."
For more information on Ole Miss Men's Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMTennis, on Facebook atOleMissMTennis and on Instagram at OleMissMTennis.
Players Mentioned
