Alabama
Ole Miss
Men's Tennis Falls at Mississippi, 6-1
3/4/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 4, 2012
OXFORD, Miss. - The men's tennis team fell 6-1 to Mississippi in Oxford on Sunday. With the loss, the Crimson Tide moves to 5-6 on the season and 0-2 in Southeastern Conference play, while the Rebels improve to 5-2 overall and 2-0 in SEC play.
"I'm not sure if we didn't have the necessary emotional energy after yesterday's tough match at Mississippi State, but for whatever reason, we didn't perform in the manner we expect," said Alabama head coach Billy Pate. "Mississippi is a very good team, especially at home, so you have to play well and create opportunities. We lost several game points early in sets and simply didn't get it going."
Mississippi took the first doubles match on court two with an 8-2 win by freshman Nik Scholtz and junior Jonas Lutjen over Alabama seniors Ricky Doverspike and Michael Thompson. The Rebels clinched the doubles point with an 8-5 win on court one by the No. 19 doubles team in the nation in seniors Chris and Marcel Thiemann over Tide junior Jarryd Botha and freshman David Vieyra. The match on court three was called once the point was secured.
In singles play, court two finished first when Marcel Thiemann defeated Doverspike 6-2, 6-1. Mississippi freshman William Kallberg earned a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Proskura on court four to put the Rebels up 3-0. The match was clinched for Mississippi when Lutjen defeated senior Vikram Reddy on court three, 6-2, 6-2.
Finishing next, Rebel sophomore Johan Backstrom downed Thompson, 6-1, 6-2, on court six. On court one, Botha fell to Mississippi's Scholtz 6-4, 6-4 to bring the Rebels lead to 6-0. Vieyra finished last on court five, earning Alabama's lone victory with a 6-4, 6-7, 1-0 victory over Chris Thiemann.
"We knew this would be a challenging road trip," added Pate. "We need to put this behind us and prepare for a big home stand."
Next week, Alabama returns to Tuscaloosa to host LSU on Friday and Arkansas on Sunday. First serve is set for 2 p.m. CT and Noon CT, respectively. Matches will be played at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 19 Thiemann/Thiemann (UM) def. Botha/Vieyra (UA) 8-5
2. Scholtz/Lutjen (UM) def. Doverspike/Thompson (UA) 8-2
3. Backstrom/Kallberg (UM) def. Reddy/Taborga (UA) 7-4, unf.
Order of Finish: 2,1
Singles
1. Nik Schoiltz (UM) def. Jarryd Botha (UA) 6-4, 6-4
2. Marcel Thiemann (UM) def. Ricky Doverspike (UA) 6-2, 6-1
3. Jonas Lutjen (UM) def. Vikram Reddy (UA) 6-2, 6-2
4. William Kallburg (UM) def. Daniil Proskura (UA) 6-2, 6-2
5. David Vieyra (UA) def. Chris Thiemann (UM) 6-4, 6-7, 1-0
6. Johan Backstrom (UM) def. Michael Thompson (UA) 6-1, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2,4,3*,6,1,5
