Men’s Tennis Plays at Auburn Friday, Hosts Senior Day vs. Alabama Sunday

			Friday No. 9 OLE MISS (8-7, 5-3 SEC) at AUBURN (6-12, 2-7 SEC) Fri., April 2 • 2:00 p.m. • Auburn, Ala. Yarbrough Tennis Center
Live Scoring /Video

			Sunday No. 9 OLE MISS (8-7, 5-3 SEC) vs. No. 35 ALABAMA (11-8, 2-5 SEC) Sun., April 4 • 1:00 p.m. • Oxford, Miss. Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center
Live Scoring /Video

AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 9 Ranked Ole Miss Rebels (8-7, 5-3 SEC) will play at Auburn (6-12, 2-7 SEC) at 2 p.m. CT on Friday prior to hosting No. 35 Alabama (11-8, 2-5 SEC) at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday.

Winning the Tennis Egg Bowl

Last Sunday, March 28, Ole Miss defeated No. 11 Mississippi State 5-2. The Rebels clinched the match versus the Bulldogs at 4-0 and proceeded to play out the remaining three singles matches. Ole Miss swept doubles, 2-0, earning victories at No. 1 and No. 2 Doubles. In singles, Ole Miss earned wins at the No. 1-4 positions. The Rebels defeated the Bulldogs for the first time since 2017. Ole Miss earned its third consecutive victory and has defeated three top-12 opponents this season (six total ranked wins).

Senior Day

For the final home match of the 2021 season the Rebels will honor one standout senior, Tim Sandkaulen (2016-2021).

Sandkaulen's Career Highlights (*Statistics as of April 1, 2021):

Career singles record of 88-72 (47-47 Duals)
Career doubles record of 85-44 (59-26 Duals)
5th all-time most doubles victories at Ole Miss
11th all-time most singles victories at Ole Miss
2020 ITA All-American (Doubles)
Achieved No. 1 ITA Ranking in Doubles with Finn Reynolds (March 25, 2021)
Highest ranking of No. 15 in Singles (Fall 2018)
2X All-SEC
2X ITA Scholar Athlete, 4X SEC Honor Roll
2X SEC Community Service Team
Reached the Second Round of the NCAA Singles Championship in 2019
Reached NCAA Team Championships 3X at Ole Miss (Sweet 16 in 2018)
One Individual Singles Title (2019 John Breaux Cajun Tennis Classic)

Last Time Facing Auburn

Ole Miss defeated Auburn, 4-3, at home in 2019. Active Rebels Sandkaulen and Jan Soren Hain won in singles, and Reynolds won in doubles versus the Tigers. Tied 3-3 in the match, Hain clinched the victory for the Rebels with a three-set win at No. 6 Singles.

Ole Miss has defeated Auburn in four straight meetings. The Rebels lead the all-time series 35-28.

Scouting the Tigers

Auburn has won one third of all matches this season (6-12 overall record). The Tigers have lost five straight matches, all versus ranked opponents. Auburn is 3-5 at home this season.

The Tigers feature one ranked singles player, No. 36 Tyler Stice, and one ranked doubles duo, No. 32 Finn Murgett and Tad Maclean. Stice leads Auburn with 10 singles victories between No. 1 and No. 2 Singles.

Last Time Facing Alabama

Ole Miss defeated the Crimson Tide earlier this season at the ITA Kickoff Raleigh Regional third place consolation match (Jan. 23). The Rebels won 4-1 versus the Crimson Tide. Brady Draheim and Simon Junk clinched the doubles point 2-1 in favor of Ole Miss. Reynolds, Junk and Nikola Slavic earned victories in singles. Slavic clinched the match by defeating No. 89 Edson Ortiz in three sets, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2

Scouting the Crimson Tide

Alabama did not play last weekend as their matches at LSU (March 26) and at Texas A&M (March 28) were postponed. In their five previous matches, the Crimson Tide earned one victory and suffered four defeats. Alabama has played 15 of their 19 matches this season at home. The Crimson Tide head to Oxford with a 0-2 away record this season.

Alabama has three ranked singles players: No. 74 Ortiz, No. 101 Zhe Zhou and No. 113 Patrick Kaukovalta. Kaukovalta also ranks No. 25 in doubles alongside Riccardo Roberto. Ortiz and Gabriel Diaz Freire lead the team with 10 dual singles victories each.

Next Up

The Rebels will conclude the regular season at Kentucky (April 9) and at Vanderbilt (April 11). The Wildcats are currently ranked No. 22 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

Brady Draheim

Jan Soren Hain

Simon Junk

Finn Reynolds

Tim Sandkaulen

Nikola Slavic

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