The University of Mississippi Athletics
Big Weekend at Home for No. 13 Rebels
3/18/2015 | Men's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. - Start your weekend with a little tennis, as the No. 13 Ole Miss men's tennis team welcomes Auburn Friday at 5 p.m. to kick off a big weekend in Oxford. The match will be played at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
Friday is Greek Day at the tennis center, and the first 100 fans will receive a free Ole Miss Tennis Glass.
Sunday, the Rebels will host No. 15 Florida at 12 p.m., in the second meeting this year between the two schools.
"We are very excited to host Auburn and Florida this weekend," head coach Toby Hansson said. "Both matches will be a battle but the guys are ready for the challenge. We played Florida this year in the ITA Kick Off weekend at their place and were able to win a very tight 4-3 match. I expect two close and exciting tennis matches this weekend and I encourage everyone to come out and support the Rebs."
Last Time Out ...
In a match that started outside at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center and finished indoors at the Gillom Sports Center, Ole Miss powered past Arkansas 4-1 last Thursday night. With their 28th straight win in the series, the Rebels improved to 10-4 overall and 2-1 in the SEC. 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.
Scouting Auburn ...
Auburn moved to 11-5 on the season overall and 1-4 in the SEC with a 4-0 loss to Mississippi State last Sunday. The Tigers are led by senior Lukas Ollert, who is ranked No. 59 in singles and comes into the weekend with a 21-9 overall record, 9-4 at No. 1 singles. They boast two others singles players in the rankings with Max Hinnisdaels at No. 103 and Marko Krickovic at No. 121.
Series ...
Ole Miss holds a slight 30-27 lead in the all-time series with Auburn. The two teams have split the last two meetings, with the Rebels taking a 4-3 win at Auburn two years ago, and the Tigers winning last year in Oxford, 4-2.
Scouting Florida ...
Florida enters the weekend at 8-5 overall and 3-2 in the SEC. They are coming off a 4-2 win over Alabama last Sunday. The Gators are led by 64th-ranked Diego Hidalgo at No. 1 singles. He owns a 22-5 overall record, 2-1 at No.1 singles. Hidalgo is 2-1 in the SEC. This week's SEC Freshman of the Week, Chase Perez-Blanco is 6-1 at No. 5 singles and 4-0 in the SEC.
Series ...
Florida owns a 35-21 lead in the series against Ole Miss, but the Rebels won the last meeting, a 4-3 victory in the first round of the ITA Kick-Off in Gainesville back in January of this year.
Top 10 in Attendance ...
In the first ITA Attendance Race Standings, the Rebels are ranked among the top 10 in average attendance with just three matches included in the first standings. Oxford has become a tough place to play, with the Rebels holding a 159-33 (.828 winning percentage) home record dating back to 2000. Baylor head coach Matt Knoll was very complimentary of the atmosphere here before and after the match last week. Here is what he said following the match on March 10.
"We think they are a great program and we think Toby (Hansson) is a really good coach. He had his guys ready to go. The crowd was very active, which made for a great college tennis atmosphere."
National Rankings ...
In the latest ITA National Rankings, the Rebels are ranked No. 13. In the singles rankings, Nik Scholtz is ranked No. 23 and Stefan Lindmark is ranked No. 82. In the doubles rankings, senior William Kallberg and freshman Gustav Hansson are ranked No. 38.
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 nine schools with both its men's and women's tennis teams in the ITA top 20. The women are ranked No. 17 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. Scholtz had his 18-match home win streak snapped last Thursday night against Arkansas, but has won 18 of his last 19 matches at home.
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 live out of town and can't make it to the matches can follow through and the live blog. Also follow the Rebels on Twitter, @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.
