Photo by Joshua McCoy / Ole Miss Athletics
The Ole Miss men’s tennis team capped off a perfect weekend Sunday, beating Alcorn State twice by scores of 4-0 to send head coach Billy Chadwick out on a great note, as he coached his last home matches at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
The Rebels came away with a huge 4-3 win over No. 10 Texas A&M on Friday to start the weekend off. The Rebels are now 14-12 overall as they head into next week’s SEC Tournament Championship in Nashville, Tenn.
“Obviously it was a great weekend,” Chadwick said. “We accomplished a couple of things. We needed a big win to help us move up in the rankings, and then we also needed some victories to make sure we are NCAA eligible. We accomplished both, and now we have some momentum going into the conference tournament. We’re looking forward to it.”
In the first match against Alcorn State, the Rebels won the doubles point and then picked up singles wins from Nik Scholtz, William Kallberg and Zach Wilder. After a break for lunch, the second match began with singles. Johan Backstrom was first off the court, when his opponent retired after dropping the first set. That closed out his career at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center as well.
Kallberg followed with a win at No. 2 singles and then Scholtz made it 3-0 with a straight set win at No. 1. Scholtz went 3-0 this weekend to improve to 13-1 at No. 1 singles. Joe Rogers clinched the match at No. 6.
Afterwards, Chadwick took a moment to reflect on a great career at the place he essentially built with his team’s success through the years.
“It’s been a fantastic career,” Chadwick said. “There have been so many big matches, but I am not sure I’ve enjoyed any more than the win over Texas A&M on Friday. When I reflect on everything, I think about the great players who have graced these courts that I have been able to coach and be associated with. It has been a lifetime of pure enjoyment here at Ole Miss.”
Of course the season is not quite done for Chadwick and the team, and they’ll be plenty of time to reflect later. The team takes the momentum from winning this weekend and heads to Nashville looking to pick up some more big wins.
The SEC Tournament bracket will be released later Sunday after the conclusion of conference play.
Follow the Rebels on Twitter, @OleMissMTennis and Facebook at OleMissMTennis.
#53 Ole Miss 4, Alcorn State 0
Singles
1. Nik Scholtz (OM) def. Ernesto Santillan (AS) 6-2, 6-3
2. William Kallberg (OM) def. Lucas Morviac (AS) 6-2, 6-3
3. Johan Backstrom (OM) vs. Nischay Rawal (AS) 6-4, 4-1, sus.
4. Ricardo Jorge (OM) vs. Maxim Tkachenko (AS) 6-3, 3-0, sus.
5. Zach Wilder (OM) def. Nikita Kostikov (AS) 6-2, 6-1
6. Joe Rogers (OM) vs. Garry Singh Amor (AS) 6-3, 1-2, sus.
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 5
Doubles
1. Scholtz/Jorge (OM) def. Santillan/Kostikov (AS) 8-4
2. Backstrom/Rogers (OM) def. Amor/Rawal (AS) 8-3
3. Wilder/Kallberg (OM) vs. Tkachenko/Morviac (AS) 5-5, sus.
Order of Finish: 2, 1
#53 Ole Miss 4, Alcorn State 0
Singles
1. Nik Scholtz (OM) def. Lucas Morviac (AS) 6-1, 7-5
2. William Kallberg (OM) def. Ernesto Santillan (AS) 6-3, 6-2
3. Johan Backstrom (OM) def. Maxim Tkachenko (AS) 6-2, retired
4. Ricardo Jorge (OM) vs. Nischay Rawal (AS) 4-6, 4-1, unfinished
5. Zach Wilder (OM) vs. Garry Singh Amor (AS) 6-3, 3-2, unfinished
6. Joe Rogers (OM) def. Nikita Kostikov (AS) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1, 6
— Kim Ling, Ole Miss Sports Information
Coach Chadwick Goes Out A Winner At Home
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