OXFORD, Miss. - After picking up two twins over top-10 teams Georgia and Tennessee last weekend, the Ole Miss men's tennis team moved up to No. 4 in the nation in the latest ITA National Rankings released Tuesday. The Rebels are set to host No. 19 Baylor Thursday at 1 p.m. at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, in their third match of the Spring Break Slam.
Fans will enjoy making their own ice cream sundaes between doubles and singles at Thursday's match.
The Rebels, who are back in the top five for the first time since ending the 2009 season at No. 4, enter the match at 10-2 overall and have won seven in a row. They rallied to defeat No. 5 Georgia 4-3 last Friday and followed it up with a 4-2 win over No. 6 Tennessee on Sunday. At 4-0 in the SEC, the Rebels have taken control of the SEC in the early going.
"We're very excited about where we are at this point in the season, but it doesn't get any easier," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "In fact, Baylor may be the toughest team that we have played this spring. Monday they played No. 1 Virginia down to the wire, and I would like to encourage all of our fans to come out and help us take down one of the best teams in the country."
The Rebels' success has come from the entire lineup with different players stepping up each match. Senior Jonas Lutjen, freshman Stefan Lindmark and junior Johan Backstrom combined to go 7-3 in singles and doubles last weekend, and sophomore William Kallberg clinched the win over Georgia and won again Sunday in singles to contribute.
Baylor (10-3) is coming off a stretch of playing three top-five teams in 72 hours. They beat No. 10 Kentucky 6-1 last Friday, before falling to No. 2 UCLA and No. 1 Virginia Sunday and Monday, respectively.
The Bears are led by freshman Julian Lenz, who is ranked No. 49 with a 17-6 overall record, 4-1 at No. 1 singles and 2-1 at No. 2.
After the Baylor match, the Rebels will get right back into the SEC with two more tough matches against No. 10 Kentucky Friday at 1 p.m. and No. 23 Vanderbilt Sunday at 1 p.m.
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