No. 13 Ole Miss Netters Host Arkansas Thursday

Nik Scholtz
Photo courtesy of Kevin Bain, Ole Miss Communications

The No. 13 Ole Miss men’s tennis team returns to conference action this afternoon as they host the Arkansas Razorbacks at 5 p.m.

With rain in expected for the area, the match could possibly be played in the Gillom Sports Center, where more than 400 fans watched the Rebels play No. 2 Baylor to a very close match Tuesday.

“We had a good match against Baylor that could have gone either way,” head coach Toby Hansson said. “The guys really enjoy playing in these types of matches, and that’s what we are going to see from here on out in the SEC. Arkansas has a very good team, so we’ll need to be ready for a battle. The crowd was tremendous Tuesday night, and we want to encourage them to come out again Thursday and help us take down the Razorbacks.”

Last time out on the court, Ole Miss gave Baylor all they could stand without senior William Kallberg before dropping a 4-1 decision. The match hinged on a close doubles point and a couple of three-setters at No. 2 and 3 singles. Senior Nik Scholtz picked up the lone win, defeating No. 4 Julian Lenz 7-6(8), 6-3.

Arkansas come into Oxford with a 1-2 conference record and 11-6 overall after split last week’s matches. Last Thursday, Arkansas played a tight match with Alabama before they picked up a 4-3 victory. On Saturday, they fell 4-0 to the Bulldogs of Mississippi State.

Junior Giammarco Micolani leads Arkansas at No. 1 singles, with an 8-4 record.

In the all-time series between Ole Miss and Arkansas, the Rebels hold a firm grip on the series, winning 27 straight matches.

Adam Brown is HottyToddy.com sports editor and can be reached at adam.brown@hottytoddy.com.