OXFORD, Miss. — The No. 13 ranked Ole Miss men\u2019s tennis team punched its ticket to the ITA National Team Indoor Final 16 with a dominating 4-0 win over NC State in the final round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend here Saturday afternoon at the Gillom Sports Center.<\/p>\n
With the win, the Rebels (2-0) earned their 18th trip to the National Team Indoor Final 16 and first since 2010. This marked the third time for Ole Miss to host the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, and Saturday there was never any doubt the Rebels were ready to grab a Sweet Sixteen spot, as they dominated in doubles and at the top three singles spots.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were at our best in both doubles and singles,\u201d head coach Billy Chadwick said. \u201cWe are able to take advantage of playing here at home, and it\u2019s great to be headed to the Final 16.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Rebels quickly went ahead in all three doubles matches and never looked back. The All-American tandem of Nik Scholtz and Jonas Lutjen powered their way to an 8-3 win at No. 1 doubles against NC State\u2019s Sean Weber and Dave Thomson. Stefan Lindmark and Johan Backstrom clinched the point, downing State\u2019s Robbie Mudge and Thomas Wiegel 8-3 at No. 3.<\/p>\n
In Friday\u2019s first round win against Columbia, the Rebels needed three sets from both Scholtz and Lutjen in their 4-1 win, but Saturday both players showed why they are two of the best in the nation, dominating in two sets to give the Rebels a 3-0 lead.<\/p>\n
Lutjen, ranked No. 5 in the nation, was first off the court taking out Thomson 6-1, 6-2 on court two. Moments after, Scholtz, ranked No. 33, finished off Austin Powell 6-2, 6-3 at the top spot to make it 3-0.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great win from start to finish,\u201d Lutjen said. \u201cEveryone was ready to play, and we executed well. We got the doubles point, and then Nik, me and William, we were excited to play the singles and just wanted to get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebel fans could sense the outcome was near, and just as Backstrom and Lindmark were getting ready to go on court, sophomore William Kallberg ended the matter with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Mudge at No. 3 singles.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn doubles, we had the momentum going, because we were winning on every court. We didn\u2019t give them any room to come back on us,\u201d Chadwick said. \u201cIt\u2019s great to have two All-Americans at one and two. The difference these two days in our team and the other teams is the one-two punch that we have. It was great to see Jonas put on a display of great skill and really out-maneuver his guy. Nik was serving great, and it\u2019s tough to face his serve indoors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Nik broke his guy in the first set, Jonas was having his way at two. Willie did a great job of clawing with his opponent at No. 3. The guy he was playing may be their best position.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Rebels next match will be the annual Mississippi Cup against arch-rival Mississippi State Feb. 7 in Jackson at River Hills Tennis Club.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"