The University of Mississippi Athletics
No. 13 Rebels Set to Battle State
3/24/2015 | Men's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss is 8-3 against arch-rival Mississippi State this year so far. The No. 13 Rebel men's tennis team would like to add to that total Wednesday, when they battle Mississippi State at 3 p.m. at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
The Rebels (12-4, 4-1) enter the match on a three-match win streak that includes downing Auburn 4-1 and shutting out then No. 15 Florida 4-0 last weekend.
"We feel good about where we are as a team," head coach Toby Hansson said. "We have three big matches coming up this week, starting with Mississippi State and then at LSU and Texas A&M. We just have to keep working hard, stay focused and come out determined to get some more big wins."
Last Time Out ...
Ole Miss won both its matches last weekend, downing Auburn 4-1 and then shutting out No. 15 Florida 4-0 to improve to 12-4 overall and 4-1 in the SEC. The Rebels have now beaten Florida twice this season. Against Auburn, the Rebels won a close doubles point and then picked up singles wins from Nik Scholtz, Ricardo Jorge and the clincher from Stefan Lindmark. Two days later, the Rebels dominated Florida indoors, winning another close doubles point and then sweeping the top three matches. Freshman Gustav Hansson won easily at No. 3 singles and then Lindmark finished off his opponent in straight sets, setting up Scholtz to clinch it in the third set at No. 1.
Scouting Mississippi State ...
Mississippi State comes into Wednesday's match at 12-5 overall, 3-2 in the SEC. The Bulldogs are coming off a 4-1 loss to Texas A&M at home. Their match against LSU scheduled for Sunday got postponed due to rain. The Bulldogs are led by Florian Lakat, who is ranked No. 108 with a 10-4 record at No. 1 singles. Their No. 1 doubles team of Lakat and Julian Cash is ranked No. 14 with a 5-0 record.
Series ...
Ole Miss owns a 48-27 all-time lead in the series, including 14-10 in Starkville. Mississippi State won last year's meeting 4-2 in Oxford, but the last time the two teams faced off in Starkville, the Rebels won 4-2.
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. 15 and Stefan Lindmark is ranked No. 84. 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 15 schools with both its men's and women's tennis teams in the ITA top 25. The women are ranked No. 21 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 has won 20 of his last 21 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 can follow the match through live scoring and the live blog. Also follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMTennis for updates throughout the match.
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
