.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Kentucky
Rebels Top No. 24 Kentucky on Senior Day
4/16/2017 | Men's Tennis
Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
OXFORD, Miss. - It was a memorable Senior Day for Ole Miss men's tennis senior Ricardo Jorge, as he and his teammates battled back from dropping the doubles point for a 4-2 win against No. 24 Kentucky at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
The Rebels started off slow, and Kentucky came out swinging in the doubles to take the early 1-0 lead.
Singles was an entirely different script, as every single player battled with Kentucky toe-to-toe and four of the matches went three sets.
In one of those three-setters, Fabian Fallert rallied to beat Enzo Wallart 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 on court four to clinch the 4-2 victory. Fallert saved multiple break points at 3-3 in the third set and then broke and served it out.
Freshman Tim Sandkaulen started the rally by coming back to beat Kentucky senior Beck Pennington 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 on court three to tie the match. He saved a match point at 4-5 in the third set and then won the final two games.
Seconds later, 25th-ranked Gustav Hansson finished off 19th-ranked William Bushamuka 6-4, 7-5 at No. 1 singles to make it 2-1 Rebels.
Jorge rallied to win his second set tiebreaker for a 6-3, 7-6(5) win over 49th-ranked Ryotaro Matsumura to give the Rebels a 3-1 lead.
Kentucky's only singles win came at No. 5, where Trey Yates rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win against Rebel sophomore Filip Kraljevic to pull the Wildcats within one briefly, before Fallert ended the matter. Grey Hamilton was up 4-1 in the third set on court six when the Rebels clinched.
At the Net...
• The Rebels are now 15-8 overall and finished 6-6 in the SEC
• The Rebels have won seven of the last eight against Kentucky
• The Rebels have won seven in a row to end the regular season
• Fabian Fallert improved to 23-6 overall, 16-3 in dual matches and finished 10-1 in the SEC
• Fallert has won 10 in a row
• Gustav Hansson improved to 20-11 overall, 11-7 at No. 1 singles and has won six straight
• Ricardo Jorge picked up his first ranked win of the year
• Tim Sandkaulen finished the weekend 2-0 in singles and won his 20th match of the year
Complete Results
Doubles
1. #32 Pennington/Wallert (UK) def. #25 Fallert/Hamilton (OM) 6-3
2. Babic/Jorge (OM) vs. Bushamuka/Ellefsen (UK) 3-5, sus.
3. Benson/Yates (UK) def. Sandkaulen/Kraljevic (OM) 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1
Singles
1. #25 Gustav Hansson (OM) def. #19 William Bushamuka (UK) 6-4, 7-5
2. Ricardo Jorge (OM) def. #49 Ryatoro Matsumura (UK) 6-3, 7-6(5)
3. Tim Sandkaulen (OM) def. Beck Pennington (UK) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
4. Fabian Fallert (OM) def. Enzo Wallart (UK) 2-6, 6-0, 6-3
5. Trey Yates (UK) def. Filip Kraljevic (OM) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
6. Grey Hamilton (OM) vs. Alex Dominguez (UK) 6-3, 5-7, 4-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2, 5, 4
Thoughts from head coach Toby Hansson...
"What a great day! We did a very good job of bouncing back after the doubles. Credit to Kentucky, they took it to us in doubles. They were the more aggressive team in doubles, but we regrouped and everybody did a great job of competing on every singles court. We were just a little bit stronger in singles. We had a little more will than they did today, we wanted it more."
On the crowd...
"The home crowd inspired us and it was senior day for Ricardo, so that inspired the team as well. They wanted to win it for him to go out on a winning note."
On courts three and four...
"I told the guys, Fabi was going to come back and he did. He's done that before and been very consistent all year. It inspires the team to watch him compete like he is competing. You can see how much Fabi has improved after losing 6-1, 6-1 to the same guy last year. Fabi was the stronger player out there today. Tim beat a very experienced senior, who has been ranked before. Tim played an excellent match, saved a match point with a backhand down the line."
On the regular season finish...
"I am very happy with the way we finished the regular season 6-6 ( in SEC) and I think that everybody is figuring things out. We're a tough team, and today we showed that we can win even without the doubles point."
Freshman Tim Sandkaulen...
"After the doubles point, I thought it was going to be really hard, because they beat us so easy in doubles. We all fought hard in singles and we deserved to win. My match was so close, but I knew if I kept the level up, I could beat him. I am really satisfied with my performance today, and especially happy for Ricky. Great day for the Rebs!"
Sophomore Fabian Fallert on his match...
"It was a very interesting match, because we have similar game styles. We both made a lot of balls in the first set, but he was able to win the close points. In the second set I changed my tactic a little, played a little more height on his forehand and he started struggling and started missing a lot. I knew then that I had broken him mentally. Third set was huge because at 3-3 I was 15-40 down on my serve and saved that game. That was key, and then I broke him easily and finished it out."
On the difference in last year to this year...
"I definitely improved my game from last year to this year. Last season he was way better and that shows me that all the work I am putting in is paying off. It's awesome to see that I can compete with guys that I wasn't able to last season."
Senior Ricardo Jorge...
"I couldn't have scripted my Senior Day any better. We started pretty bad in doubles, but it we incredible energy in singles. Obviously with it being Easter, not a lot of people were here, but the ones who were here were loud. All the guys brought a lot of energy too. I couldn't ask for a better Senior Day and beating a team like Kentucky after being down."
On the second set...
"The second set was up and down. I was up 5-4 and then it goes to 5-5. I broke him again on an incredible get, I put the ball in the court somehow to go up 6-5. I couldn't serve it out though, we go to a tiebreak and I get down 4-1. Somehow I just knew [I would come back]. I looked at the scoreboard and saw all the guys were fighting. Gus got a break and I just told myself this is going to be my last five minutes on this court, to give it my all."
Up next...
The Rebels will have a week off before heading to Knoxville, Tenn. April 26-30 for the SEC Championship.
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
