The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, January 24
Champaign, Ill.
6 PM
Ole Miss
4
at
3
Illinois
Junk Thrills as Rebels Upset No. 12 Illini
1/24/2020 | Men's Tennis
Ole Miss will face No. 20 Michigan for a chance at National Indoor Championships
CHAMPAIGN, ILL. -- In a thrilling battle coming down to the final court, Ole Miss Men's Tennis upset hosts No. 12 Illinois Friday 4-3 in the opening round of the ITA Kickoff, sending the Rebels to the finals Saturday at the Atkins Tennis Center and moving to a perfect 5-0 on the season.
Ole Miss will face No. 20 Michigan (3-1), who defeated Texas Tech earlier Friday, also by a 4-3 score. The winner of Saturday's match will earn a berth in the ITA National Indoor Championships, held in February.
The win is the first ranked victory of the season for the Rebels and their highest win since 2018, when they upset No. 4 Stanford to advance to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Ole Miss had earlier in the year upset No. 9 Baylor, marking their third Top 15 win over the last two years.
Coming down to the wire, all eyes turned to sophomore Simon Junk, who delivered back-to-back aces to set up match point in his third-set tiebreaker and pull off the first clinch of his collegiate career.
After falling victim to a first-set tiebreaker 5-7, Junk was quick to get revenge, surrendering just one game to take the second set 6-1 and force a third.
Setting him up was junior Finn Reynolds, who picked up a ranked victory of his own taking down the Illini's Zeke Clark, ranked No. 61 in the latest ITA/Oracle Rankings. Reynolds carried the momentum early, taking the opening set 6-4 and rallying back to take the third 6-3. The victory is Reynolds' second ranked win of his career in dual match play.
The Rebels started with the advantage, picking up the critical doubles point thanks to the rookie tandem of Nikola Slavic and Lukas Engelhardt. After getting a push from Junk and classmate Jan Soren Hain on Court 3 with a swift 6-2 result, the freshmen grinded through ties at 4-4, 5-5 after coming to deuce point, and again at 6-6 to force a tiebreak.
Things continued to be a cat-and-mouse affair, as the duo was even in the tiebreaker as late as 6-6 before securing the final two points and handing Ole Miss the 1-0 lead.
The Rebels also picked up a singles victory from Engelhardt, whose 6-4, 6-3 victory tied things up for the Rebels at 2-2 after losses on Courts 1 and 2.
AT THE NET WITH… HEAD COACH TOBY HANSSON
"This was an awesome marathon college battle that I will remember for a long time. It was one of the best and longest matches I've ever been a part of… The team really stuck together and showed a lot of heart tonight. Now we have to shift our focus to tomorrow's match and go out there and compete just like we did today."
RESULTS
OLE MISS 4, #12 ILLINOIS 3
1. A.Kovacevic (ILL) def. No. 35 T. Sandkaulen, 7-6 (6), 6-2
2. No. 11 A. Brown (ILL) def. J.S. Hain, 6-4, 6-3
3. F. Reynolds def. No. 61 Z. Clark (ILL), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
4. No. 48 S. Montsi (ILL) def. N. Slavic, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
5. L. Engelhardt def. F. Scott (ILL), 6-4, 6-3
6. S. Junk def. L. Horve (ILL), 6-7 (5), 6-1, 7-6 (4)
1. A. Brown/G. Gomes (ILL) def. T. Sandkaulen/F. Reynolds, 6-3
2. L. Engelhardt/N. Slavic def. L. Horve/V. Budic (ILL), 7-6 (6)
3. S. Junk/J.S. Hain def. A. Kovacevic/A. Bansila, 6-2
UP NEXT
Ole Miss faces No. 20 Michigan in the finals, slated for a 6 p.m. first serve. Fans can follow the live stream/scoring links provided.
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For more information on Ole Miss Men's Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter @OleMissMTennis, on Facebook at OleMissMTennis and on Instagram at OleMissMTennis, follow Coach Hansson on Twitter at @TennisToby.
Ole Miss will face No. 20 Michigan (3-1), who defeated Texas Tech earlier Friday, also by a 4-3 score. The winner of Saturday's match will earn a berth in the ITA National Indoor Championships, held in February.
The win is the first ranked victory of the season for the Rebels and their highest win since 2018, when they upset No. 4 Stanford to advance to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Ole Miss had earlier in the year upset No. 9 Baylor, marking their third Top 15 win over the last two years.
Coming down to the wire, all eyes turned to sophomore Simon Junk, who delivered back-to-back aces to set up match point in his third-set tiebreaker and pull off the first clinch of his collegiate career.
After falling victim to a first-set tiebreaker 5-7, Junk was quick to get revenge, surrendering just one game to take the second set 6-1 and force a third.
Setting him up was junior Finn Reynolds, who picked up a ranked victory of his own taking down the Illini's Zeke Clark, ranked No. 61 in the latest ITA/Oracle Rankings. Reynolds carried the momentum early, taking the opening set 6-4 and rallying back to take the third 6-3. The victory is Reynolds' second ranked win of his career in dual match play.
The Rebels started with the advantage, picking up the critical doubles point thanks to the rookie tandem of Nikola Slavic and Lukas Engelhardt. After getting a push from Junk and classmate Jan Soren Hain on Court 3 with a swift 6-2 result, the freshmen grinded through ties at 4-4, 5-5 after coming to deuce point, and again at 6-6 to force a tiebreak.
Things continued to be a cat-and-mouse affair, as the duo was even in the tiebreaker as late as 6-6 before securing the final two points and handing Ole Miss the 1-0 lead.
The Rebels also picked up a singles victory from Engelhardt, whose 6-4, 6-3 victory tied things up for the Rebels at 2-2 after losses on Courts 1 and 2.
AT THE NET WITH… HEAD COACH TOBY HANSSON
"This was an awesome marathon college battle that I will remember for a long time. It was one of the best and longest matches I've ever been a part of… The team really stuck together and showed a lot of heart tonight. Now we have to shift our focus to tomorrow's match and go out there and compete just like we did today."
RESULTS
OLE MISS 4, #12 ILLINOIS 3
1. A.Kovacevic (ILL) def. No. 35 T. Sandkaulen, 7-6 (6), 6-2
2. No. 11 A. Brown (ILL) def. J.S. Hain, 6-4, 6-3
3. F. Reynolds def. No. 61 Z. Clark (ILL), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
4. No. 48 S. Montsi (ILL) def. N. Slavic, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
5. L. Engelhardt def. F. Scott (ILL), 6-4, 6-3
6. S. Junk def. L. Horve (ILL), 6-7 (5), 6-1, 7-6 (4)
1. A. Brown/G. Gomes (ILL) def. T. Sandkaulen/F. Reynolds, 6-3
2. L. Engelhardt/N. Slavic def. L. Horve/V. Budic (ILL), 7-6 (6)
3. S. Junk/J.S. Hain def. A. Kovacevic/A. Bansila, 6-2
UP NEXT
Ole Miss faces No. 20 Michigan in the finals, slated for a 6 p.m. first serve. Fans can follow the live stream/scoring links provided.
-------------------------------
For more information on Ole Miss Men's Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter @OleMissMTennis, on Facebook at OleMissMTennis and on Instagram at OleMissMTennis, follow Coach Hansson on Twitter at @TennisToby.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
#1 Singles Match
12
62
Aleks Kovacevic / 0 [ILL]
76
#2 Singles Match
12
43
Alex Brown / 0 (11/-) [ILL]
66
#3 Singles Match
123
636
Zeke Clark / 0 (61/-) [ILL]
463
#4 Singles Match
123
465
Siphosothando Montsi / 0 (48/-) [ILL]
647
#5 Singles Match
12
66
Fletcher Scott / 0 [ILL]
43
#6 Singles Match
123
667
Lucas Horve / 0 [ILL]
716
Order of Finish:
2,1,5,3,4,6
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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