OXFORD, Miss. — The No. 14 ranked Ole Miss men’s tennis team downed 39th-ranked Arkansas 6-1 here Friday at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center/Galtney Courts to improve to 9-5 overall and 5-2 in the SEC. The Rebels host LSU Sunday at 1 p.m.
Head coach Billy Chadwick switched up the doubles after the Rebels had dropped four straight doubles points in the SEC. It worked. Nik Scholtz and Jonas Lutjen teamed up for an 8-3 win at No. 1 doubles against Matt Walters and Hall Fess. They are now 10-1 in dual matches and 1-1 at No. 1. At No. 3 doubles Johan Backstrom and William Kallberg broke the Razorback duo of Nikolas Zogaj and Mike Ward and served it out to win 8-6 and clinch the point.
“The T-brothers are one of the top teams in the nation, but sometimes if something isn’t working, you have to change it up a little and see what happens. It seemed to help us today. The bottom line, we need to come out in every match and play strong at all three positions.”
With the first point in hand, the Rebels went to work in singles, winning five first sets including a couple of tiebreakers. First off the court, senior Marcel Thiemann, ranked No. 36 in the nation, dominated UA’s Gregoire Lehmann 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2 to make it 2-0 Rebels. Thiemann is now 9-3 at No. 2 and 6-1 in the SEC.
Scholtz, ranked No. 19 nationally, admits he hates losing in anything, and Friday he bounced back with a straight set win at No. 1 singles. He defeated Arkansas senior Zogaj 6-3, 6-3 to improve to 11-2 and 6-1 in the SEC.
Moments later, 40th-ranked Lutjen clinched the victory finishing off Razorback Matt Walters 7-6(2), 6-1 at No. 3 singles. Lutjen is 5-2 in the SEC.
“It was a close match. If you looked at the doubles, it was extremely competitive. We took five first sets, and we were very fortunate to win a couple tiebreakers to get ahead. They’re a tough team and I felt like without a good effort top to bottom, we would come up short. We did get a solid effort and came out on top.”
The Rebels final two points came at five and six singles, as Backstrom defeated Mike Ward 6-4, 5-7, 10-6 and Adrian Forberg Skogeng won 7-6(4), 1-6, 10-8.
LSU and Mississippi State got rained out Friday and will play Saturday at 10 a.m. in Starkville. Admission to Sunday’s match is free and with no concessions, fans may bring their own food and beverage.
Follow the Rebels on twitter at @OleMissMTennis and on facebook at www.facebook.com/OleMissMTennis.
#14 Ole Miss 6
#39 Arkansas 1
Doubles
1. Scholtz/Lutjen (OM) def. Walters/Fess (ARK) 8-3
2. Thiemann/Thiemann (OM) vs. Nott/Jeske (ARK) 5-6, sus.
3. Kallberg/Backstrom (OM) def. Zogaj/Ward (ARK) 8-6
Order of Finish: 1, 3
Singles
1. Nik Scholtz (OM) def. Nikolas Zogaj (ARK) 6-3, 6-3
2. Marcel Thiemann (OM) def. Gregorie Lehmann (ARK) 6-1, 6-0
3. Jonas Lutjen (OM) def. Matt Walters (ARK) 7-6(2), 6-1
4. Manfred Jeske (ARK) def. Chris Thiemann (OM) 6-2, 6-4
5. Johan Backstrom (OM) def. Mike Ward (ARK) 6-4, 5-7, 10-6
6. Adrian Forberg Skogeng (OM) def. Hall Fess (ARK) 7-6(4), 1-6, 10-8
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6