Rebels Advance To Elite Eight In NCAA Doubles

ATHENS, Ga. -- Ole Miss men’s tennis players Erling Tveit and Eric Claesson advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Doubles Championships Friday evening, taking out Miami’s Josh Cohen and Luigi D’Agord (seeded 5-8) in straight sets.

Tveit and Claesson, ranked No. 24 in the nation, were all tied at three with the Hurricane duo, before winning three straight games to win the first set 6-3.  They would go on to claim the second set 7-5 to upset the fifth-ranked pair. Tveit and Claesson were the only unseeded team to reach the final eight. 

The Reb duo will face the second-seeded team of Somdev Devvarman and Treat Huey from Virginia Saturday.  This will be the second meeting between the two teams, as they faced each other in the Ole Miss/Virginia match in the quarterfinal round of the National Team Indoor, with the Cavalier duo grabbing an 8-6 win.

As a result of getting to the quarterfinals, both Tveit and Claesson earned their second All-America honor.  Tveit became a two-time All-American in singles and doubles.

In singles, Robbye Poole ended an outstanding season in the NCAA Round of 16, with a three-set loss to Alex Slovic of Washington.

Poole won the first set 6-4.  The two were all even at four in the second set. Slovic won his serve to go up 5-4.   Poole had a game point at 40-30, but a double fault let Slovic back in and he ended up breaking to take the set 6-4.   Poole fell behind 3-0 in the final frame.  Down 5-1, he won two straight games to make it 5-3, but Slovic served it out on his second attempt for the win.

Poole finished the year at 35-11 and earned his first career All-America honor.  He became the 20^th All-American in the history of the program and third on this year’s team, joining Tveit and Claesson.   Poole also made the All-SEC first team with an 8-2 record in league play.

NCAA INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS ATHENS, Ga.

SINGLES

Round of 16 Alex Slovic (UW) def. Robbye Poole (OM) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

DOUBLES

Round of 16 - Erling Tveit/Eric Claesson (OM) def. Luigi D'Agord/Josh Cohen (UM) 6-3, 7-5.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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