2012 OUTLOOK
Ole Miss head coach Billy Chadwick has been looking forward to the 2012 season since last year and with good reason. The Rebels boast a talented lineup that he says has an opportunity to put Ole Miss back in the thick of the SEC race and the national spotlight. “Our goals are to win a championship, and to do that, we’ve got to get up in the top five. If you look at the SEC, we’ve got four teams in the top 10 in the country and eight teams in the top 30. It’s really loaded. Not any different than it’s always been,” Chadwick said. “We’ve got a lot of experience back from last year’s team and we have a couple of newcomers who are really going to make a big difference. We feel like we’re going to be right in the thick of things.” The Rebels return five of the top seven from last year led by the senior twin duo of Marcel Thiemann and Chris Thiemann. Joining them are veterans Adrian Forberg Skogeng Jonas Lutjen and Johan Backstrom. Leading the list of highly touted freshmen is South African Nik Scholtz and Sweden’s William Kallberg. England’s Joe Rogers and Oxford native Zach Wilder round out the team. In the team’s final individual tournament of the season, the SEC Indoor Championships, the Rebels showed they will be a team to contend with this year in the SEC as well as on the national level. The Thiemann’s captured the doubles title, while Scholtz joined Lutjen in the semifinals of singles. Kallberg reached the quarterfinals including a win over the nation’s No.3 ranked player. During the Thiemann’s career at Ole Miss, the Rebels have won the SEC Championship, the SEC Tournament Championship and two SEC West titles. Together, they form one of the top doubles teams in the nation. They are both excited about the season and looking forward to
Johan Backstrom 24 | REBEL TENNIS 2012
hoisting more trophies. “We want to win the NCAA Championship,” Marcel said. “And, we want to win another SEC Championship and SEC Tournament title,” Chris added. Marcel Thiemann has established himself as one of the top players in the SEC and the nation. The two-time All-American reached the NCAA Singles Quarterfinals in 2011 for the second year in a row and was named the ITA Southern Region Player to Watch. Steady as a rock, Chris Thiemann has clinched many big wins for the Rebels including the SEC West Championship victory against Alabama in 2010 and last year's win over Florida on the road. “Marcel and Chris have both been on an SEC Championship team. They’ve been ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation in doubles. They’ve participated in the NCAA Doubles Championship, as well as Marcel making the NCAA final eight two years in a row in singles. They know what it’s all about. We are going to be relying heavily on their senior leadership,” said Chadwick, the dean of SEC coaches now in his 30th year with the men’s team. One of the most improved players in the SEC, junior Jonas Lutjen has experience playing in the top half of the lineup the last two years and this past fall, reached the finals of the ITA Southern Region. “He is playing lights out. He’s going to be one of those secret weapons,” said Chadwick of Lutjen. He’s played three for us and been very successful, but now he could be the top player at his position in the league.” Another player who has made tremendous strides since last year is sophomore Johan Backstrom. The Swede gained valuable experience as a freshman in 2010 and proved in the fall, that he is ready to take his game to the next level teaming with Lutjen to capture the ITA Southern Regional Doubles title as well posting a 7-3 re-
Adrian Forberg Skogeng
Jonas Lutjen
cord in singles. “Johan is one of the most improved players on the team and he showed that with his results in the fall. We expect him to have a big year for us in both singles and doubles,” Chadwick said. Another returning player who gives the Rebels added depth is junior Adrian Forberg Skogeng, who has provided some clinching wins during his career. “Adrian is an outstanding competitor who works hard. He has provided us with some key wins, and we look for him to provide leadership,” Chadwick said. Chadwick loves to talk about the influx of talented freshmen who have joined the team and says fans can expect them to make an immediate impact. As evidenced by his performance at the SEC Indoor, Nik Scholtz, who earned a No. 5 ranking in the ITA Newcomers National Rankings at the start of the year, is going to be one of the top players in the conference. He was the No. 1 ranked junior in South Africa and achieved a career high of No. 22 in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Junior Rankings. Scholtz also earned a career-high No. 6 ranking in the South African men’s rankings. “Nik is one of the top prospects in the country. He’s very talented and an impact player who is going to come in and help us in singles and doubles,” Chadwick said. “He’s got the ability to position himself as one of the top players in the conference. He’s got good size, a great serve and great mobility. He has the intangibles. He loves to compete and he’s a winner.” Joe Rogers was here in the fall and is an accomplished player who will help bolster the future of the team on and off the courts. “Joe is an excellent tennis player as well as an excellent student,” Chadwick said. “By coincidence, his
Nik Scholtz
4 NCAA TEAM FINAL FOUR | 9 NCAA TEAM ELITE EIGHT | 25 ALL-AMERICANS