The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
NCAA Individual Championships
Hansson Reaches Round of 16 in NCAA Singles
5/26/2016 | Men's Tennis
Singles Bracket | Live Scoring/Video
TULSA, Okla. - The All-American wall inside the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center will need updating after Ole Miss men's tennis sophomore Gustav Hansson advanced to the round of 16 at the NCAA Singles Championships Thursday to become the 29th All-American in the history of the program.
Hansson, ranked No. 39 in the nation, defeated Stanford sophomore and 2015 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Tom Fawcett 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to reach the round of 16 in his first NCAA singles appearance. He will face No. 1 ranked and top-seeded Mikael Torpegaard of Ohio State in the third round Friday at 11:30 a.m.
An early break by Hansson allowed him to take a 2-0 lead in the first set against Fawcett, who is ranked No. 15. Fawcett broke right back, but Hansson ended up breaking again for a 4-2 lead and held to take the first set for the second day in a row. Hansson held a 2-0 lead in the second as well, but Fawcett broke back and then broke again at 3-2 and went on to win it to force the winner-take-all set.
With All-American honors on the line in addition to the win, Hansson won a deciding point in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead. Fawcett held his serve and then Hansson served it out for the win.
Later in the afternoon, sophomore Zvonimir Babic and freshman Filip Kraljevic took the court for their first round doubles match against North Carolina's Brayden Schnur and Jack Murray. Babic and Kraljevic dropped the first set 6-1. They got down an early break in the second, but battled back to 3-3. Serving at 3-4, Babic and Kraljevic were broken again, and the UNC duo served it out 6-3.
Notables…
• Hansson improved to 27-10 overall. He has won 12 of his last 14 matches.
• Hansson improved to 10-4 in three-setters this year.
• Friday's opponent will mark the first time for Hansson to face the top-ranked player.
• Hansson is now 10-6 against ranked foes this year.
• Babic and Kraljevic finish the year at 11-10.
Quoting head coach Toby Hansson…
On Gustav…
"We are very happy for Gus to win and add his name to the list of great players who have earned All-America honors at Ole Miss. Gus played well in the first and third sets. He kind of let the second set get away after 2-2, but he stayed with it mentally and got the job done in the third. Both guys played some amazing points in the third set. Gus is playing really well right now and if he keeps this level up, I give him a chance against anyone in the field."
On Zvonimir and Filip's match…
"Z and Filip were a little flat today. It's hard to beat a team playing that well when you don't play well. Z and Filip had some chances in the second set, but couldn't convert. It was good for them to make the NCAAs this year and it gives them something to build on for next year."
Gustav Hansson on becoming an All-American…
"It is an honor to be mentioned among all of the great players who have played for Ole Miss. I am very grateful."
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.
