The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, January 22
Raleigh, NC
1 PM
Ole Miss
vs
Tennessee
Men’s Tennis Set for ITA Kickoff Weekend
1/21/2021 | Men's Tennis
No. 17 Ole Miss to Challenge No. 13 Tennessee Friday
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No. 17 OLE MISS (0-1, 0-0 SEC) vs No. 13 Tennessee (3-0, 0-0 SEC) Fri., Jan. 19 • 1:00 p.m. • Raleigh, N.C. J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center |
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RALEIGH, N.C. – Ole Miss begins its quest toward competing at the ITA National Indoor Team Championships against SEC foe Tennessee at 1 p.m. CT on Friday.
Opening Dress Rehearsal
Ole Miss opened the 2021 dual season in a 4-3 defeat to No. 11 Texas A&M this past Tuesday. The Rebels and Aggies split singles, as A&M's doubles victory decided the non-conference match's outcome. Ole Miss' No. 3 singles, Nikola Slavic, stood-out for the Rebels as he earned the highest-ranked victory of his career topping A&M's 33rd-ranked Juan Carlos Aguilar. Additionally, two Ole Miss freshmen won in their debut matches, John Hallquist Lithén in singles and Jakob Cadonau in doubles (with Slavic).
Last Time Competing in ITA Kickoffs
Ole Miss last was invited to compete in ITA Kickofff in 2017. The Rebels split their two matches, defeating No. 15 Texas A&M on the road, 4-3, and falling to No. 23 SMU, 4-3. One active Rebel, Tim Sandkaulen, had competed for the Rebels as a freshman. Sandkaulen won one match during the event, defeating SMU in doubles.
Scouting the Volunteers
No. 13 Tennessee enters ITA Kickoff Weekend 3-0 this season after earning victories over Oklahoma, Tennessee Tech, and ETSU. The Vols team has two student-athletes ranked within the ITA/Oracle top-125. Adam Walton ranks No. 24 and Pat Harper ranks No. 124. Tennessee currently has a four-match win-streak over the Rebels and narrowly lead the all-time series 29-28.
Next Up
The Rebels will next face either No. 8 NC State or Alabama on Saturday. If the Rebels win on Friday, they will next compete at 1 p.m. CT. In the event of a loss on Friday, Ole Miss will play at 9 a.m. CT.
The Wolfpack opened the 2021 season with tournament play at the ACC Challenge (Jan. 16-18). NC State has two ranked singles players and two ranked doubles teams. In singles, Alexis Galarneau ranks No. 7 nationally and Tadas Babellis ranks No. 95. Babellis and Galarneau also rank top-25 in doubles as Babellis ranks No. 9 alongside Yannai Barkai and Galarneau ranks No. 23 with Robert Turzak.
The Crimson Tide enter ITA Kickoff weekend 4-0 after defeating Samford and North Alabama in double-headers. Alabama features one ITA/Oracle ranked singles player, No. 89 Edson Ortiz. Ortiz was defeated by Ole Miss' Sandkaulen this past fall in straight-sets, 6-4, 7-5 (Auburn Invitational). After competing in two fall events against Alabama, the Crimson Tide hold a 4-3 match lead in singles matches and are tied with the Rebels 1-1 in doubles matches played.
For more information on Ole Miss Men's Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMTennis, on Facebook at OleMissMTennis and on Instagram at OleMissMTennis, follow Coach Hansson on Twitter at @TennisToby.
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