Men’s Tennis Renews Rivalry with Mississippi State

			Friday No. 9 OLE MISS (7-7, 4-3 SEC) vs. No. 11 MISSISSIPPI STATE (12-5, 2-4 SEC) Sun., March 28 • 1:00 p.m. • Oxford, Miss. Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center
Live Scoring /Video

OXFORD, Miss. – No. 9 Ole Miss men's tennis (7-7, 4-3 SEC) squares off versus No. 11 Mississippi State (12-5, 2-4 SEC) at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, 1 p.m. CT on Sunday.

No. 9 OLE MISS (7-7, 4-3 SEC)

The Rebels return to Oxford after earning two ranked victories last weekend. Ole Miss defeated No. 36 Tulsa (March 19) and No. 24 Oklahoma State (March 21), both by the score of 4-3. Nikola Slavic clinched both victories for the Rebels against the Golden Hurricane and the Cowboys. At Oklahoma State, Slavic decided the match by defeating No. 101 Emile Hudd in dramatic fashion, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (1).

Hansson's Hundred

Head Coach Toby Hansson earned his 100th career coaching victory in the Rebels' win over the Cowboys. In his seventh season at the helm, Hansson has a career record of 100-67. Ole Miss has made the NCAA Championships every season under Hansson (excluding 2020's COVID-19 shortened season) and he lead the Rebels to the third round in 2018.

Top Ranked Doubles Duo

The Rebels rose to the top of the Oracle/ITA individual doubles rankings in the most recent poll released on Wednesday (March 24). Finn Reynolds and Tim Sandkaulen jumped up from the No. 7 position to earn the status of the No. 1 ranked doubles pairing in the nation. The Ole Miss tandem has won eight of 10 dual matches this season, matching their record from their All-American campaign in 2020.

Ole Miss climbed up the singles rankings as well. Reynolds leads the Rebels as the No. 12 ranked individual in collegiate tennis. Reynolds is followed by Slavic at No. 36 and Sandkaulen at No. 65.

Last Time Facing Mississippi State

The Rebels fell 6-1 to the Bulldogs in their last meeting in 2019. Ole Miss did not face Mississippi State in 2020 due to the early stoppage of the spring season (COVID-19). The Rebels last defeated their in-state rivals in 2017.

Scouting the Bulldogs

Mississippi State has won three of their last four matches. The Bulldogs swept UAB 7-0 in their last match on March 20. Versus mutual opponents this season, the Bulldogs have earned victories over Memphis, LSU and South Carolina, but have lost to TCU, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas A&M and Florida.

The Bulldogs feature four ranked singles players: No. 43 Florian Broska, No. 47 Giovanni Oradini, No. 56 Nemanja Malesevic and No. 62 Davide Tortora. Broska also ranks No. 37 in doubles alongside Gregor Ramskogler. Broska, Malesevicm Alberto Colas and Carles Hernandez each have at least 10 dual singles victories this season.

Next Up

Ole Miss next faces Auburn on the road next Friday, April 2, at 2 p.m. CT. The Tigers are currently ranked No. 47 in the nation.

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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Players Mentioned

Finn Reynolds

Tim Sandkaulen

Nikola Slavic

The University of Mississippi Athletics