The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
South Carolina
Rebels Rally to Top South Carolina
4/15/2016 | Men's Tennis
Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
OXFORD, Miss. - It rained most of the day Friday, but it stopped just in time to dry the courts and play outside. Under the lights, the Ole Miss men's tennis team rallied after dropping the doubles point to top South Carolina 4-3 at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
South Carolina won a close doubles point that could have gone either way. The Gamecocks secured a 6-3 win at No. 3 and then closed out the No. 1 match 7-5. Court two was in a tiebreaker.
The Rebels bounced back on most all the singles courts and won four first sets. Senior Stefan Lindmark, ranked No. 66, took care of Andrew Schafer 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2 singles and then 51st-ranked Gustav Hansson finished off 60th-ranked Gabriel Freidrich 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1 singles to give the Rebels a 2-1 lead.
Freshman Fabian Fallert made it 3-1 when he defeated Gamecock Thomas Mayronne 6-3, 6-1 on court five. Zvonimir Babic clinched the victory beating Wood Benton 6-3, 6-4 on court six.
Notables…
• Ole Miss improved to 14-8 overall, 5-6 in the SEC.
• The Rebels have now won two in a row against South Carolina.
• It marked the second win of the season for the Rebels after dropping the doubles point.
• Gustav Hansson improved to 23-8 overall, 14-4 in dual matches and 9-2 in the SEC. He has now won eight in a row.
• Zvonimir Babic improved to 10-1 in dual matches, 5-1 in the SEC. He has won seven in a row.
• Stefan Lindmark improved to 18-11 overall, 12-7 in dual matches.
Quoting Head Coach Toby Hansson…
"We are playing good doubles, and we were close to getting the point today. We had good energy. It was very small margins across the board. I told the guys in the locker room that I believed every single person could get the job done. They stepped up and responded well. I want to especially thank our game ops people for helping us get the courts dry so we could play outside."
On Gus and Stefan…
"Stefan and Gus played two quality opponents. We expected those to be tough matches. From what I saw, they played exceptionally well. They didn't give their opponents any hope whatsoever."
On Zvonimir's match…
"Zvonimir had some tough calls in the second set. Every time he was challenged, he responded. He was mentally strong and tough. Zvonimir always plays better when there is somebody backing him and he fed off the crowd today."
On Fabi's play as of late…
"Fabi is really starting to play some good tennis. After a little bit of a slow start, he got more comfortable and at 1-3, he won nine games in a row. It's great to see him playing well."
On the Georgia match…
"This was a great match, but there's no time to celebrate. We have already started preparing for Georgia. The guys have to put this one behind them quickly and get ready for another tough match. I can't emphasize enough how much the crowd influences our players. We would love to see a big crowd. We're going to have fantastic weather and it's the SEC Champion. I believe we are as good as they are, we just have to continue to work hard on Sunday and see what happens."
Zvonimir Babic on his match...
"It was a tough match. I had an early break, but he fought back and then I was abe to win the first set. I took control in the second set, but then he came back. I did a good job of fighting on every point. Me and Fabi both did a good job using the crowd to our advantage and getting a connection with them."
On losing the doubles point and coming back...
"It's always tough to lose the point, but we are growing as the season goes along. We're confident we can win four matches off anyone."
Up next...
The Rebels close out the regular season Sunday hosting No. 6 Georgia at 1 p.m. on Senior Day at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center. Ole Miss will honors seniors Vinod Gowda and Stefan Lindmark.
For more information on Ole Miss Men's Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter @OleMissMTennis, on Facebook at OleMissMTennis and on Instagram at OleMissMTennis, follow Coach Hansson on Twitter at @TennisToby.
Players Mentioned
