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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Tennessee
Men's Tennis Drops Tight Match at Tennessee
3/12/2017 | Men's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. â€" Ole Miss men's tennis won the doubles point at Tennessee, but could not overcome dropping five first sets in singles on their way to a 4-3 loss at Tennessee Sunday at the Goodfriend Tennis Center.
With cold temperatures, the match was moved indoors. The Rebels struck first winning the doubles point with wins on courts three and one. They changed up the doubles teams with Gustav Hansson teaming up with Filip Kraljevic for a 6-2 win at No. 3. In a battle between two top 25 teams, 23rd-ranked Fabian Fallert and Grey Hamilton beat 21st-ranked Jack Schipanski and Luis Valero 6-4 to clinch the point.
The Rebels' momentum was short-lived, as the Vols took five of the six first sets in singles. In the one match where the Rebels won the first set, Zvonimir Babic defeated Luca Wiedenmann 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6 to make it 2-0 Rebels.
Tennessee won several close first sets and that was the difference. At No. 3, Scott Jones edged Ole Miss' Jorge 6-4 in the first and then took the second set 6-2. Freshman Tim Sandkaulen dropped his first set to UT's Valero 7-6(5) and then Valero closed him out 6-0 in the second to tie the match at 2-2.
Hansson, ranked No. 39, led 86th-ranked Timo Stodder 4-0 in the first set and later had a set point at 5-4. Stodder forced a tiebreaker and at 5-5 won the final two points for 7-6(5). He broke to go ahead 5-4 in the second set, but Hansson broke back only to be broken again. This time Stodder served it out for 7-5 to hand the Vols the 3-2 lead.
With the Rebels needing to win the final two matches, they were able to get both to a third set. At No. 4, Kraljevic saved a match point in the second set tiebreaker, after dropping the first set. He could not carry the momentum into the third, falling 6-3, 6-7(10), 6-1 to Tennessee's Srjdan Jakovljevic, as the Vols clinched the win.
In the last match, Fallert, who had rallied to get his to a third set, came out on top 3-6, 7-6(0), 6-3 against Schipanski, to finish the weekend 3-1 in doubles and singles.
At the Net…
• The Rebels are now 6-4 on the year, 1-2 in the SEC
• The loss snaps a seven-match win streak in the series for the Rebels
• Fabian Fallert won his sixth straight to improve to 13-5 overall, 7-2 in dual matches
• Fallert is also 3-0 in the SEC
• Zvonimir Babic improved to 4-1 at No. 6 singles, 2-1 in the SEC
Complete Results
Doubles
1. #23 Fallert/Hamilton (OM) def. #21 Schipanski/Valero (UT) 6-4
2. Jorge/Babic (OM) vs. #47 Stodder/Jones (UT) 5-6, sus.
3. Hansson/Krajlevic (OM) def. Bhat/Jakovljevic (UT) 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1
Singles
1. #86 TImo Stodder (UT) def. #39 Gustav Hansson (OM) 7-6(5), 7-5
2. Luis Valero (UT) def. Tim Sandkaulen (OM) 7-6(3), 6-0
3. Scott Jones (UT) def. Ricardo Jorge (OM) 6-4, 6-2
4. Srdjan Jakovljevic (UT) def. Filip Kraljevic (OM) 6-3, 6-7(10), 6-1
5. Fabian Fallert (OM) def. Jack Schipanski (UT) 3-6, 7-6(0), 6-3
6. Zvonimir Babic (OM) def. Luca Wiedenmann (UT) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 2, 1, 4, 5
Thoughts from head coach Toby Hansson…
"We played better in doubles today than against Georgia but unfortunately we could not keep it going in singles. We had chances on a few courts but we were not able to capitalize on them. We are looking forward to finally playing at home this upcoming week."
Up next…
The Rebels return home for three matches beginning with Florida March 16 at 1 p.m.
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
