Johan Backstrom. Photo by UM Photographer Kevin Bain
Team Defeats Arkansas 4-0; Florida Up Next
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Ole Miss men’s tennis team, seeded No. 5 in the SEC Championship, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 4-0 win against 12th-seeded Arkansas, in a match that began on Thursday and ended at 12:15 a.m. Friday. The Rebels advance to face No. 4 seed, Florida, later at 5 p.m.
Sophomore Johan Backstrom finished off a 6-4, 6-3 win over Razorback Mike Nott at No. 5 singles to clinch the win.
The Rebels got on the board first by taking a close doubles point. The twins, Marcel Thiemann and Chris Thiemann shut out Arkansas’ Mike Nott and Manfred Jeske 8-0 at No. 2, and then Nik Scholtz and Jonas Lutjen topped Hall Fess and Matt Walter 8-6 to clinch the point. The No. 3 match was tied at 6.
Marcel Thiemann did not play singles and therefore everyone moved up a spot. Jonas Lutjen took his place at No. 2 singles, and downed Manfred Jeske 6-0, 6-2 to put the Rebels ahead 2-0. Moments later, Chris Thiemann increased Ole Miss’ lead to 3-0 with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Razorback Jovan Parlic.
The Rebels will look to avenge the 4-3 regular-season loss to Florida, ranked No. 10 in the nation, earlier this spring.
For updates throughout the day during the tournament, follow @SECTennis. The hashtag is #SECMT12.
#5 Ole Miss 4
#12 Arkansas 0
Doubles
1. Scholtz/Lutjen (OM) def. Fess/Walter (ARK) 8-6
2. Thiemann/Thiemann (OM) def. Nott/Jeske (ARK) 8-0
3. Backstrom/Kallberg (OM) vs. Ward/Lehmann (ARK) 6-6, sus.
Order of Finish: 2, 1
Singles
1. Nik Scholtz (OM) vs. Gregoire Lehmann (ARK) 2-6, 6-2, 3-0 sus.
2. Jonas Lutjen (OM) def. Manfred Jeske (ARK) 6-0, 6-2
3. William Kallberg (OM) vs. Mike Ward (ARK) 6-0, 5-7, 2-3, sus.
4. Chris Thiemann (OM) def. Jovan Parlic (ARK) 6-3, 6-2
5. Johan Backstrom (OM) def. Mike Nott (ARK) 6-4, 6-3
6. Adrian Forberg Skogeng (OM) vs. Victor Hoang (ARK) 6-4, 3-4
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 5