Rebels Continue Play At MLK Invitational

Memphis On Deck For Monday’s Conclusion 

ATLANTA – The No. 11 ranked Ole Miss men’s tennis team faced No. 3 Georgia Sunday on the second day of the MLK Invitational hosted by Georgia Tech, but unfortunately, the Rebels couldn’t win any of the close matches.
“We didn’t play as bad as it looks on the final tally,” head coach Billy Chadwick said.  “We just didn’t win too many decisive points when we were tied in the games.   We were in a lot of the matches.  Nik played didn’t play that bad, Stefan’s match could have gone either way, and Backy was up 4-1 in his match.  Vinod’s match was close, and he could have won.”
The ITA has adopted an experimental format to be used in matches through the National Team Indoor. Doubles is played to 6 with a tiebreaker at 5 all and singles is also using a tiebreaker at 5 all.  There is also no-ad scoring.
Georgia won two of the three doubles matches.  Nik Scholtz and Johan Backstrom, in their second match together, defeated 12^th-ranked Hernus Pieters and Ben Wagland 6-4.
In singles, Georgia won all six matches.  At the top spot, 21^st ranked Nathan Pasha edged 15^th-ranked Nik Scholtz 6-5, 6-3.  At the No. 2 spot, 12^th-ranked Austin Smith defeated William Kallberg 6-2, 6-5.  In a tight battle at No. 3, Wagland escaped Stefan Lindmark 6-4, 6-5.    Backstrom led Bulldog Garrett Brasseaux 4-1 in the first, but Brasseaux came back and won it 6-4 and then took the second set 6-2. In the only match to go three sets, freshman Vinod Gowda rallied to get his match against Bulldog senior Hernus Pieters to a third set, before dropping the contest 6-3, 5-6, 6-4.
The Rebels will conclude the tournament Monday with doubles and singles against No. 21 Memphis. There is no team scoring in this event, only individual results count.
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MLK Invitational
No. 11 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Georgia
Doubles
Scholtz/Backstrom (OM) def. #12 Pieters/Wagland (UGA) 6-4
Pasha/Brasseaux (UGA) def. #51 Kallberg/Lindmark (OM), 6-1
Smith/Diaz (UGA) d. Gowda/Wilder (OM) 6-3
Singles
#21 Nathan Pasha (UGA) def. #15 Nik Scholtz (OM) 6-5, 6-3
#12 Austin Smith (UGA) def. #104 William Kallberg (OM) 6-2, 6-5
#48 Ben Wagland (UGA) def. #108 Stefan Lindmark (OM) 6-4, 6-5
#47 Garrett Brasseaux (UGA) def. Johan Backstrom (OM) 6-4, 6-2
Hernus Pieters (UGA) def. Vinod Gowda (OM) 6-3, 5-6, 6-4
#102 Nick Wood (UGA) def. Zach Wilder (OM) 6-2, 6-1
— Ole Miss Sports Information