A new era in Ole Miss men’s tennis officially starts this weekend, as first-year head coach Toby Hansson leads the Rebels into Gainesville, Florida for the annual SEC Fall Classic. The tournament begins Friday at Scott Linder Tennis Stadium on the University of Florida campus and concludes Monday, Sept. 22 with the finals.
“It’s going to be a very strong tournament and will be a good way to see what we do well and what we need to work on,” said Hansson. “These guys have really been putting in the work and when you prepare well, you get excited about going to these tournaments.”
With the conference being so talent-rich, the tournament should prove to be both exciting and challenging for the Rebels. Three of the nation’s top 15 players, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), will be playing this weekend in Gainesville and Coach Hansson hopes the maturity of his team will play a key factor.
“They all have great attitudes, they’re willing to work and the upperclassmen have shown great leadership for the younger guys,” he said.
The Rebels are coming off their 21st consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and almost the entire squad returns from last year. The Rebels also landed an outstanding recruiting class to add depth to the team.
The Rebels will look to senior William Kallberg to be a leader. Kallberg is ranked No. 105 in the nation in singles.
Ole Miss also boasts two of the top 60 doubles pairings in the country according to the ITA. Junior Stefan Lindmark and freshman Gustav Hansson are the No. 57 ranked pairing, while Kallberg and sophomore Ricardo Jorge are ranked No. 59.
Also competing this weekend will be juniors Joe Rogers and Zach Wilder, sophomore Vinod Gowda and freshman Zvonimir Babic, who along with Gustav Hansson, will make his debut for the Rebels.
“It will be a great test as always, against SEC competition and we hope to get a lot of good matches in,” said Coach Hansson. “That’s the whole reason we’re going.”
For more information of Ole Miss Men’s Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMTennis, on Facebook at OleMissMTennis and on Instagram @OleMissMTennis.
–Ole Miss Sports Information
Ole Miss Men’s Tennis to Open Fall in Gainesville
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