OXFORD, Miss. – The No. 16 Vanderbilt men’s tennis team took its third loss of the season to No. 10 Ole Miss Sunday afternoon. With the loss the Commodores own a 10-3 overall record and a 1-1 mark in conference action.
Vandy put up a great effort in doubles, but came up just short. Mississippi’s No. 2 doubles duo of Lindmark/Babic secured the first win over the Commodores as they passed Pen Binet and Baker Newman in a 6-3 victory.
On court one, No. 1 Gonzales Austin and Rhys Johnson evened the `Dores chances as they defeated Gustav Hansson and William Kallberg, 6-3. With the win the tandem remains undefeated, owning a 9-0 mark on the season.
With the doubles point down to court three, VU’s Suresh Eswaran and Daniel Valent fought hard to try to secure the advantage, but came up just short to Nik Scholtz and Grey Hamilton, 7-6.
“Doubles was really close”, said head coach Ian Duvenhage, “it came down to a tiebreaker at No. 3 doubles. We had chances but we weren’t able to convert. Singles was really tight at No. 1 and three also. We were up a break at 5-3 at No. 4 singles and so it was one of those matches that a few points here and there made the difference of winning and losing. They won the big points and we didn’t, so it was a tough one to lose. There were a lot fo positives in the match and we’ll make the corrections we need to make and go from there.”
With the doubles lost the Commodores looked to singles for their only chance to secure the win for the black and gold. With only three courts to use in the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, No. 1, 2, and 3 singles were the first to take the SEC stage. The three courts were to a disadvantage for the `Dores, who have strength at the bottom of their lineup as well as the top.
On court two, Rhys Johnson fell to No. 63 Stefan Lindmark 6-2, 6-4, to give the Rebels the 2-0 advantage.
Kallberg defeated Kris Yee in a hard fought match on three. The Commodore lost the first set 7-6(3). Yee’s second set went to a breaker once again, but after being up 4-1 Kallberg saved three points to take the match; 7-6(7).
The sweep was complete as Ole Miss’ No. 60 Nik Scholtz delivered No. 9 Gonzales Austin his first loss of the spring with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 victory. The senior now owns a career record of 98-41, and 11-1 slate in his senior spring campaign.
“We did a lot of things well… I thought we played well in doubles today. AJ (Austin) served well, hit the ball off the ground, and finished at the net. There were just a few small things that we need to do better; and the same goes for Kris (Yee). We’re just going to get back out there at practice tomorrow and get ready for Florida.”
The Commodores return home for next week’s SEC action as they Commodores take on the No. 17 Florida Gators Friday at 4 p.m. Vanderbilt continues at home Sunday for a doubleheader as the `Dores host the Auburn Tigers at Noon and Ball State at 4:30.
#10 Ole Miss 4, #16 Vanderbilt 0
March 1, 2015 at Oxford, Miss. (Gillom Sports Center)
Singles:
1. Nik Scholtz (OM) def. Gonzales Austin (VANDY) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
2. Stefan Lindmark (OM) def. Rhys Johnson (VANDY) 6-2, 6-4
3. William Kallberg (OM) def. Kris Yee (VANDY) 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (9-7)
4. Gustav Hansson (OM) vs. Daniel Valent (VANDY) 3-5, unfinished
5. Suresh Eswaran (VANDY) vs. Vinod Gowda (OM) no result
6. Baker Newman (VANDY) vs. Zvonimir Babic (OM) no result
Doubles:
1. Gonzales Austin/Rhys Johnson (VANDY) def. Gustav Hansson/William Kallberg (OM) 6-3
2. Stefan Lindmark/Zvonimir Babic (OM) def. Pen Binet/Baker Newman (VANDY) 6-3
3. Nik Scholtz/Grey Hamilton (OM) def. Suresh Eswaran/Daniel Valent (VANDY) 7-6 (7-4)
Match Notes:
Vanderbilt 10-3, 1-1; National ranking #16
Ole Miss 9-2, 1-0; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,3,1)
