OXFORD, Miss. \u2013 Conditions were not favorable, and it was the first outdoor match of the season, but the No. 13 nationally ranked Ole Miss men\u2019s tennis team rose to the occasion, and senior Jonas Lutjen stepped up big to clinch a 4-2 win against Memphis here Wednesday at the Palmer\/Salloum Tennis Center.<\/p>\n
With the Rebels leading 3-2 and both Lutjen and sophomore Nik Scholtz in the third sets, the remaining fans who braved the cold, waited to see who could get that final point for the team.\u00a0 After dropping his first set 6-1, Lutjen, ranked No. 5 in the nation, rallied to win the second set against 79th-ranked Joe Salisbury, 6-3 and then broke at 4-4 in the third.\u00a0 He served it out for 6-4 to clinch the victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was rough, obviously the conditions weren\u2019t the best, but we knew that coming in,\u201d Lutjen said.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve been practicing in this weather for a week now.\u00a0 Memphis has a really good team. They\u2019re not ranked that high right now, but they\u2019re a top-20 team for sure. Today was all about fight.\u00a0\u00a0 I knew if I could make one or two returns and get up a break then it would turn. I just tried to stay calm and keep my legs moving, and it worked out in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Rebels got on the board first by winning the all-important doubles point.\u00a0 Memphis won at No. 2 doubles 8-3, but Ole Miss picked up two big wins on courts one and three to secure the point. Scholtz and Lutjen teamed up for a 9-7 win at No. 1 and then Johan Backstrom and Stefan Lindmark won a huge tiebreaker at No. 3, 9-8(4) to clinch it.<\/p>\n
Three of the singles matches went three sets, but in two of the three that didn\u2019t, the Rebels were victorious.\u00a0\u00a0 Lindmark, a freshman, moved up to No. 4 singles and Backstrom slid down to No. 5.\u00a0 After Memphis won at No. 6, Backstrom finished off a 6-2, 7-6(2) win over UM\u2019s David O\u2019Hare to make it 2-1 Rebels.<\/p>\n
Lindmark, ranked No. 106 in singles, defeated Tiger Johnny Grimal 7-6, 6-1 to increase the lead to 3-1 and improve to 5-1 in dual matches.<\/p>\n
Shortly thereafter, UM newcomer Lukas Vrnak finished off a comeback against William Kallberg at No. 3 singles, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, to put the Tigers within one.<\/p>\n
When Lutjen clinched, Scholtz was up 4-2 in the deciding set against Tiger Connor Glennon.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Scholtz won the first set 6-2, but Glennon was able to hold off Scholtz in the second set tiebreaker 7-6(6).<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew this was a very good Memphis team, so we had to be at our best to win,\u201d head coach Billy Chadwick said. \u201cI thought the guys fought really hard and it was the exact type of match to start the [outdoor] season with.\u00a0 You want the conditions to be really rough.\u00a0 As a result of this match, we\u2019ll be in much better position going into the start of conference play this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Rebels will now hit the road for the start of Southeastern Conference play. First up, they will face No. 31 Alabama Friday at 3 p.m. followed by No. 32 Auburn Sunday at 1 p.m.<\/p>\n
Follow the Rebels on Twitter, @OleMissMTennis and on Facebook at OleMissMTennis.<\/p>\n
#13 Ole Miss 4, #63 Memphis 2<\/strong>
\nDoubles<\/strong>
\n1. #5 Scholtz\/Lutjen (OM) def. Glennon\/DeZutter (UM) 9-7
\n2. O\u2019Hare\/Salisbury (UM) def. #49 Kallberg\/Forberg Skogeng (OM) 8-3
\n3. Lindmark\/Backstrom (OM) def. O\u2019Leary\/Grimal (UM) 9-8(6)
\nOrder of Finish: 2, 1, 3
\nSingles<\/strong>
\n1. #12 Nik Scholtz (OM) vs. Connor Glennon (UM) 6-2, 6-7(6), 4-2, sus.
\n2. #5 Jonas Lutjen (OM) def. #79 Joe Salisbury (UM) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
\n3. Lukas Vrnak (UM) def. #55 William Kallberg (OM) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
\n4. Stefan Lindmark (OM) def. Johnny Grimal (UM) 7-6, 6-1
\n5. Johan Backstrom (OM) def. David O\u2019Hare (UM) 6-2, 7-6(2)
\n6. David O\u2019Leary (UM) def. Adrian Forberg Skogeng (OM) 6-0, 6-3
\nOrder of Finish: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"