No. 6 Georgia Up Next At National Team Indoor
OXFORD, Miss. – The No. 12 nationally ranked Ole Miss men’s tennis team’s first stop on the road trip was a success, as the Rebels downed a feisty Portland team 6-1 Wednesday at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center. With the win, the Rebels improved to 3-1 as they head to Seattle, Wash., to face No. 6 Georgia in the first round of the ITA National Team Indoor Friday at 10 a.m. CT.
The Rebels started the match by winning the doubles point with wins on courts three and one in that order. Johan Backstrom and Stefan Lindmark downed Paxton Deuel and Kent Andreasen 8-2 at No. 3 and then 16th-ranked Nik Scholtz and Jonas Lutjen defeated Ratan Gill and Alex Ferrero 8-5 at No. 1.
Portland didn’t make it easy for Ole Miss in singles, but the Rebels responded winning in straight sets on the top two courts to go ahead 3-0. Lutjen, ranked No. 6 in the nation, was first off the court with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Mike Hu Kwo at No. 2 singles. Scholtz, ranked No. 24, followed up with a 7-5, 6-4 win against Gill at No. 1.
The match ended when 40th-ranked William Kallberg held off Portland’s Alex Ferrero 6-7(3), 7-6(3), 6-4 to remain undefeated at No. 3 singles and improve to 15-4 overall.
“I was very impressed with Portland,” head coach Billy Chadwick said. “They pushed us today, and our guys responded. Every match was extremely competitive. It was a great match, and the team now has their sights on the National Team Indoor and our first round opponent, Georgia.”
Lindmark and Backstrom both won their matches for the final 6-1 score.
Friday’s match against Georgia will feature live scoring as well as a live blog from Georgia. Those be can accessed by going to OleMissSports.com and clicking on the link in the calendar.
Follow the Rebels on Twitter, @OleMissMTennis and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OleMissMTennis.
No. 12 Ole Miss 6, Portland 1
Doubles
1. #16 Nik Scholtz/Jonas Lutjen (OM) def. Ratan Gill/Alex Ferrero (POR) 8-5
2. Jackson Martin/Mikel Hu Kwo (POR) def. #25 William Kallberg/Adrian Skogeng (OM) 8-7(4)
3. Johan Backstrom/Stefan Lindmark (OM) def. Paxton Deuel/Kent Andreasen (POR) 8-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
1. #24 Nik Scholtz (OM) def. Ratan Gill (POR) 7-5, 6-4
2. #6 Jonas Lutjen (OM) def. Mike Hu Kwo (POR) 6-4, 6-4
3. #40 William Kallberg (OM) def. Alex Ferrero (POR) 6-7(3), 7-6 (3), 6-4
4. Johan Backstrom (OM) def. Justin Guay (POR) 5-7, 6-3, 10-7
5. #84 Stefan Lindmark (OM) def. Paxton Deuel (POR) 7-6(3), 6-4
6. Jackson Martin (POR) def. Adrian Forberg Skogeng (OM) 7-5, 6-1
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3, 5, 4, 6