BERKELEY, Calif. – The Ole Miss men’s tennis team lost the doubles point for the second straight day Sunday, but could not overcome the deficit, dropping five first sets in singles on their way to a 4-0 loss to No. 13 California in the second round of the NCAA Championships at Hellman Tennis Complex.

Cal got off to a fast start at No. 3 doubles and took the match 6-2. In a match-up of the Swedes, the Rebel tandem of Gustav Hansson and Stefan Lindmark defeated Andre Goransson and Oskar Wikberg 6-3 to even the doubles. Fabian Fallert and Grey Hamilton battled the ninth-ranked duo of Filip Bergevi and Florian Lakat at No. 1 doubles, but came up just short, 6-4, as Cal took the 1-0 lead.

With Cal taking five first sets in singles, the Rebels faced an uphill battle. Lindmark had beaten his singles opponent, Goransson, before, but this time the Golden Bear won 6-3, 6-1 on court two to give Cal a 2-0 lead.

Cal increased its lead to 3-0 when Bergevi took out Fallert 6-2, 6-3 on court four and then clinched when J.T. Nishimura closed out sophomore Zvonimir Babic 6-4, 6-2 at No. 6 singles.

“We are proud of the guys’ effort, but give Cal credit. They played better than we did today,” Ole Miss coach Toby Hansson said. “Doubles was close again, but we just couldn’t seem to get in the match in singles. We have a great group of young guys who kept battling throughout the season to get us to this point, and we are looking forward to helping them get better next year. The future looks bright.”

Up next
Gustav Hansson earned a bid to the NCAA Singles Championship, which begins May 25 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Stefan Lindmark is a second alternate in singles. Zvonimir Babic and Filip Kraljevic received a bid to the doubles, which starts May 26.