Rebels Tennis Starts Season Ranked No. 11

18^th Top 15 Preseason Ranking In 21 Years              

OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss men’s tennis team begins the 2014 season ranked No. 11 in the nation, as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced its preseason team rankings as well as the latest individual rankings, Thursday.
Ole Miss returns four of the top six from last year’s team which ended the year ranked No. 10 in the nation, marking the 15th top-10 finish in the last 20 years.
The Rebels earned their 18th top 15 preseason ranking in 21 years.  It also marks the 27th consecutive year for the Rebels to be among the preseason top 25.
The preseason team rankings are based mostly on the 2013 final ranking and results.  The Rebels will have plenty of opportunities to make a statement as the SEC leads the nation with 10 teams in the top 25.  In fact, 12 of the Rebels’ opponents are ranked inside the top 25.
In the latest singles rankings, junior Nik Scholtz is ranked No. 15.  He finished the fall with a 7-4 record and including reaching the finals of the ITA Southern Regional for the second year in a row.
Junior William Kallberg is ranked No. 104 and sophomore Stefan Lindmark is ranked No. 108, both with 7-3 records on the year.
The Swedish lefties are ranked No. 51 in doubles after a solid fall in which they won the ITA Southern Regional with a 6-4 record.
Ole Miss ended the 2013 season ranked No. 10 in the nation and won its 10th SEC Western Division Championship.  Scholtz and Jonas Lutjen earned All-America honors and advanced to the NCAA Final Four in doubles.
In 2013, the Rebels won the program’s 10th SEC Western Division Championship, earned their 20th consecutive NCAA appearance and hosted the NCAA first and second rounds for the 11th time.  Scholtz earned All-America honors and reached the NCAA Semifinals in doubles, while he and Kallberg earned All-SEC honors.
The Rebels kick off the spring Jan. 17-20 at the Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta, before hosting the ITA Kickoff Weekend Jan. 25-26 at the Gillom Sports Center.
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— Kim Ling, Ole Miss Sports Information