With the spring semester starting, Ole Miss tennis has been on a hot streak on campus in the William F. Galtney Indoor Tennis Center.
The men’s and women’s teams opened the season undefeated with six combined team wins over the last week.
The men’s team has not lost a point in their four matches this season, sweeping North Alabama last Wednesday, then Belmont and Jackson State on Sunday.
No. 35 Tim Sandkaulen debuted for the Rebels on Sunday as the entire team made quick work on both ends of the double header. The senior made his home on the court, winning 6-3, 6-4 and 6-2, 7-5 in singles.
“I think everyone did very well today. They did a good job of competing and supporting each other all day,” head coach Toby Hansson said on Sunday. “We had a few matches that were competitive, and I think we responded the right way. I feel like we got better because of today’s matches. The fans were into it. I think they enjoyed seeing us compete.”
With Sandkaulen and Simon Junk leading the squad, the Rebels have a few underclassmen to watch this spring. Freshman Nikola Slavic recorded his first singles win, and Lukas Engelhardt was also victorious in both matches.
“I think the matches today definitely helped prepare us for next weekend, especially for the freshmen getting used to playing for a team,” Hansson said. “It’s just good for everybody to get those wins and gain some confidence. It’s good to figure out what we are doing well and figure out things we need to improve on.”
The women kicked off their highly anticipated spring season with a double header sweep of Memphis and UT Martin on Monday.
Alexa Bortles and Sabina Machalova are back for the Rebels and didn’t disappoint, going undefeated, while Anna Vrbenska and Tereza Janatova launched their senior seasons in the win column for double and singles match play.
Freshmen Kelsey Mize, Victoire de Samucewicz and Grace Anne Jones made their Ole Miss debuts.
“Very useful day today.. it was one of those things that, looking ahead having to play Michigan and a top-15 team, we needed to compete today,” head coach Mark Beyers said on Monday. “Memphis, those guys have a heck of a team, and that’s a good win. We were pushed in that match for sure, and that’s something that is going to make us better prepared for the ITA Kickoff next weekend.”
Both teams hope to use this series of tune-ups as the competition level rises in the coming weeks. The men will face two top-15 teams in Illinois and Oklahoma State as the women gear up for Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday.
