No. 18 Men’s Tennis Defeats No. 22 Oklahoma, 4-1, in ITA Kickoff Opener

OXFORD, Miss. – No. 18 Ole Miss men's tennis (4-0, 0-0 SEC) earned a 4-1 victory versus previously undefeated No. 22 Oklahoma (5-1, 0-0 BIG XII) in the opening regional match of ITA Kickoff Weekend on Saturday. The Rebels advance to host the regional final versus NC State at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday.

In front of a packed William F. Galtney Indoor Tennis Center Crowd on Saturday, the Rebels defeated the Sooners, 4-1. The top seeded Rebels claimed the opening doubles point and won three of four decided singles matches to claim victory versus the region's No. 4 seed. ITA No. 18 Ole Miss earned its first ranked victory of the season versus the No. 22 Sooners (Oklahoma is the second-highest ranked team in the regional draw). The Rebels advanced to earn a spot in the championship match on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT with a spot in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on the line.

After falling behind 4-1 at No. 1 doubles, Finn Reynolds and Lukas Engelhardt proceeded to win five-consecutive games to defeat Oklahoma's Alex Martinez and Welsh Hotard, 6-4. Mere seconds after the Rebels took a 1-0 advantage in doubles, Jakob Cadonau and John Hallquist Lithén cliched doubles for Ole Miss, 2-0, by defeating Mason Beiler and Nathan Han, 6-3. The Rebels took a 1-0 match lead.

Oklahoma leveled the match, 1-1, by taking the first singles match to conclude. Martinez defeated No. 44 Reynolds in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.

Ole Miss dominated Oklahoma at No. 6 and No. 1 singles. Jan Soren Hain reclaimed the lead for the Rebels, 2-1, by defeating Hotard 6-1, 6-1. Hain improved his singles record to 7-2 overall this season and 4-0 in duals. No. 28 Nikola Slavic made a statement victory at No. 1 singles versus No. 31 Beiler, defeating the Sooner 6-1, 6-2.

Lithén upset No. 49 Mark Mandlik at No. 3 Singles, 6-3, 6-3, to clinch the victory for the Rebels. The victory was Lithén's first ITA top-50 individual win of his career.

Up Next: Ole Miss is set to face NC State in the Oxford Regional Championship at 2 p.m. CT tomorrow. The Wolfpack advanced to the final by earning a 4-2 victory versus No. 24 Illinois in the second match in Galtney on Saturday.

Ole Miss 4, Oklahoma 1

Doubles
1. Finn Reynolds/Lukas Engelhardt (OM) def. Alex Martinez/Welsh Hotard (OU), 6-4
2. Mark Mandlik/Baptiste Anselmo (OU) vs. Nikola Slavic/Simon Junk (OM), 5-4 (unfinished)
3. John Hallquist Lithén/Jakob Cadonau def. Mason Beiler/Nathan Han (OU), 6-3

Singles
1. No. 28 Nikola Slavic def. No. 31 Mason Beiler (OU), 6-1, 6-2
2. Alex Martinez (OU) def. No. 44 Finn Reynolds, 6-3, 6-3
3. John Hallquist Lithén def. No. 49 Mark Mandlik (OU), 6-3, 6-3
4. No. 54 Jordan Hasson vs. Lukas Engelhardt, 7-6 (3), 2-3 (unfinished)
5. Simon Junk vs. Justin Schlageter (OU), 6-2, 5-5 (unfinished)
6. Jan Soren Hain def. Welsh Hotard (OU), 6-1, 6-1

For full tournament rosters, live scoring, live video and results go to –

https://olemisssports.com/sports/2022/1/25/live-video-scoring.aspx

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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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Jakob Cadonau

Lukas Engelhardt

Jan Soren Hain

Simon Junk

Finn Reynolds

Nikola Slavic