No. 17 Rebels fall to No. 15 Texas Tech

Published 6:00 am Sunday, January 24, 2016

AUSTIN, Texas – This time there was no magic and no comeback for the No. 17 ranked Ole Miss men’s tennis team in the first round of the ITA Kick-Off as they fell to No. 15 Texas Tech 4-0 Saturday at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center.

The Red Raiders took the opening doubles point and then picked up singles wins at Nos. 4, 6 and 2 to advance to a second-round meeting against No. 24 Florida. The Rebels will take on No. 20 Texas in the consolation at 10 a.m. Sunday.

Texas Tech boasts the No. 2 ranked team and last year’s NCA runner-up at No. 1 doubles, and they defeated Filip Kraljevic and Zvonimir Babic 6-3. With Stefan Lindmark and Ricardo Jorge leading their match 5-2, Tech closed out the point with a 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles against Fabian Fallert and Grey Hamilton.

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In singles, the Red Raiders won four first sets and put the Rebels in a 3-0 hole with straight set wins on courts four and six. Hamilton lost to Jolan Cailleau 6-1, 6-3 at four and Jorge dropped his match to Bjorn Thomson 7-5, 6-3 at six.

With Lindmark battling back for a two-break lead in the second set against No. 8 ranked Felipe Soares at No. 1 singles, Kraljevic holding his own with the No. 33 ranked player at No. 3 singles and Fallert in the third set at No. 5, Texas Tech closed the door when Dojas finished off Gustav Hansson 6-1, 7-5 at No. 2.

“We had some tough matches today, and it really could have gone either way,” Ole Miss coach Toby Hansson said. “We have to get ready to bounce back tomorrow against another good team in Texas.”