The University of Mississippi Athletics
Men's Tennis Says Aloha to the 2017 Season
1/8/2017 | Men's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. - While many folks in Rebel Nation are dealing with frigid temperatures, the Ole Miss men's tennis team is in sunny Hawaii to open the 2017 season. The Rebels will kick things off Jan. 9 in the Rainbow Warrior Invitational.
The tournament runs Jan. 9-11 and includes host Hawaii, Duke and LSU. Following the tournament, the Rebels will take on the Rainbow Warriors in their first dual match of the season.
"Everybody is very excited about being in Hawaii," head coach Toby Hansson said. "It will be beneficial for us to practice outside in preparation for our upcoming matches against SMU and either Baylor or Texas A&M at the ITA Kickoff Weekend. We have a few days where we can do some team-bonding things in the afternoon, and we are all looking forward to that as well."
The field...
Like the Rebels, Duke is receiving votes in the year's first Oracle/ITA Top 25 Rankings. The Blue Devils are led by junior Nicolas Alvarez, who is ranked No. 10 in singles. He became their 21st All-American in 2015 and has been a First-Team All-ACC honoree both years at Duke. LSU earned their 17th NCAA appearance in 19 seasons under head coach Jeff Brown last year and advanced to the second round. The Tigers are led by senior All-American Jordan Daigle and senior All-SEC honoree Justin Butsch. Hawaii is led by senior Marcel Chan and junior Felix Albert who both earned All-Big West Second Team honors in doubles in 2016.
"This tournament will be perfect for us to get back into match competition, because it's been awhile since some of the guys played competitive matches," Hansson said. "We are looking forward to playing against quality competition in LSU, Duke and Hawaii."
All-American Hansson leads the way...
The Rebels will be led at the top of the lineup by junior All-American Gustav Hansson, who begins 2017 ranked No. 14 in the Oracle/ITA Rankings. Hansson became the 29th All-American in program history in 2016 reaching the round of 16 at the NCAA Singles Championships. He was named ITA Southern Region Player to Watch and earned All-SEC First Team honors.
"The sky is the limit for Gus, and he knows that," Hansson said. "He showed that he is one of the top players in the country, and people who have seen him play really respect his game and the way that he plays the game. We look forward to him having another stellar year and topping what he did his first two years."
Experience up and down the lineup...
In college tennis, the doubles point is huge and has been for the Rebels. Since 2002, the Rebels are 212-25 when they win the doubles point. All three of the Rebels' doubles teams are nationally ranked and two of the members of those teams are juniors Zvonimir Babic and Grey Hamilton. Babic has been nationally ranked in doubles and participated in the NCAA Doubles Championship every year of his career, while Hamilton is the reigning ITA Southern Regional Doubles Champion and currently ranked No. 13 with Fallert. Hansson hopes both can translate that success to singles.
"We hope their experience and the success that they've had in doubles will help them in their singles games," Hansson said. "We are looking for them to step up and really contribute this year in singles."
Sophomores Filip Kraljevic and Fabian Fallert came into last year with high expectations after outstanding junior careers. Both contributed to the team earning its 23rd straight NCAA appearance and showed glimpses of the future.
"Both of them coming in here were proven players, but college tennis is completely different," Hansson said. "Filip and Fabi have been working extremely hard and I am convinced that both of them will have a very good year."
While the Rebels return six players from last year's lineup, only one is a senior. Ricardo Jorge, who begins his final campaign with the Rebels on Monday, has posted some big wins during his career.
"Ricardo's highest level is very high," Hansson said. He's been hampered with some injuries, but if he can stay healthy, he has the ability to contribute to our success. We are looking for him to play his best tennis of his career in his last year and go out on a high note."
Someone the Rebels expect to make a big impact this season in both singles and doubles is freshman Tim Sandkaulen. The German native came in as the European Doubles Champion and the German Junior National Champion. This past fall, Sandkaulen posted a team-high nine wins and begins the spring ranked No. 83 in singles and No. 57 in doubles with Hansson.
"Tim started off the fall like most freshmen do, but also had not played much in the summer because of an injury. He slowly worked his way back in there and showed that he wanted it. He worked very hard in practice and in conditioning. If he continues to do that, then we look for him to have a solid year. He is an excellent player and an incredible teammate."
Robert Mounger may only be a sophomore in athletic eligibility, but he's been around the program for three years.
"He sets a great example for the team with his work ethic on the court as well as in the classroom," Hansson said.
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
