The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Tulane
Men’s Tennis Powers Through Tulane to Earn 5-2 Victory
2/5/2023 | Men's Tennis
Rebels Clinch Five of the Team’s Six Singles Matches to Move to 4-2 on the Year
OXFORD, Miss. – Fueled by five singles wins, the Ole Miss men's tennis team was able to overpower the Tulane Green Wave 5-2 to secure the victory at Galtney Tennis Center on Sunday.
The Rebels (4-2) overcame a slow start to the match that included dropping the doubles point to open the day, but key singles wins by Nikola Slavic, John Hallquist Lithen, Simon Junk, Noah Schlagenhauf and Isac Strömberg helped see the Ole Miss side past a difficult Tulane (1-2) squad.
"Got off to a slow start in singles and doubles today," head coach Toby Hansson said. "Happy to see Isac be able to turn around his match and find a way to win that one. Really just across the board we were looking down in the first 20 minutes of singles, but the guys bounced back and competed well. Wasn't our highest level, but we found a way to win today and at the end of the day that's what matters."
Sunday's match would open with a trio of tightly knit doubles matches taking place across all three courts. Despite the very best efforts of the Rebels, the team saw itself on the backfoot early after dropping the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles matches 6-4 and 7-5, respectively.
Tulane's momentum carried into singles play with the Green Wave seeing two early set wins of Court 4 and Court 6. The Rebels were looking for a momentum shift, and they were able to find just that with their first singles victory of the day by Simon Junk.
Serving as the veteran of the Rebel squad, Junk put together a strong showing in the No. 3 singles slot by putting together a 6-4, 6-4 victory. However, after a Tulane win over Lukas Engelhardt the Green Wave was able to jump back in front.
The Rebels then turned from their oldest competitor to one of their youngest in Isac Strömberg, who opened his match having dropped the first set 6-1. The Stockholm, Sweden, native dug deep to power his way back into the match, capturing 6-3 and 6-0 set wins to equalize the match at two apiece.
The baton was then passed to Rebel senior Nikola Slavic, who saw the lone ranked matchup of the day for the Rebels, having to play against the No. 87 singles player in the nation. Coming off of his straight-set ranked singles victory from Friday, Slavic was ready to do the same on Sunday as the reigning All-American once again saw a straight-set 6-3, 7-6(2) victory on Court 1 to help put the Rebels one win away from clinching the match.
"I think we came into singles with a lot of positive energy and just believing that we could win four singles matches," Slavic said. "I felt like in my match I really just had to fight for every single point. At the end of the day I feel like I competed well, and that goes for all of the other guys. Everyone competed well and I'm just really happy we got the win."
Ole Miss wouldn't have to wait long for the clinch as John Hallquist Lithen's three-set battle with Tulane's Luka Petrovic came to a close in No. 2 singles, with Lithen emerging victorious with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 scoreline.
"Honestly I was looking over and I saw that Noah was up 4-1 double break, so I knew it was just a matter of time for him to clinch his match," Lithen said. "At that point it was a race and I just felt like I had to get it done before him so I could get the clinch."
Freshman Noah Schlagenhauf would then cap off the Rebel victory with one last singles win, taking down the No. 5 singles opponent in a hard-fought 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 victory.
Up Next
The Rebels will now face a brief off period with the team not returning to action until the end of the month with a doubleheader against Alabama State on February 24. Match times are currently schedule for 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. CT with the possibility of playing the team's first outdoor matches of the season being on the table, weather permitting.
Ole Miss 5, Tulane 2
Doubles
Nikola Slavic/Lukas Engelhardt (OM) vs. Barry/Jacobson (TUL) 4-4 unfinished
Kuenkler/Scherer (TUL) def. John Hallquist Lithen/Simon Junk (OM) 6-4
Petrovic/Suarez (TUL) def. Isac Strömberg/Noah Schlagenhauf (OM) 7-5
Order of finish: 2, 3
Singles
No. 99 Nikola Slavic (OM) def. No. 87 Fynn Kuenkler (TUL) 6-3, 7-6(2)
No. 82 John Hallquist Lithen (OM) def. Luka Petrovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
Simon Junk (OM) def. Billy Suarez (TUL) 6-4, 6-4
Alex Bancila (TUL) def. Lukas Engelhardt (OM) 6-2, 7-6(3)
Noah Schlagenhauf (OM) def. Rafael de Alba (TUL) 7-5, 2-6, 6-1
Isac Strömberg (OM) def. Sam Scherer (TUL) 1-6, 6-3, 6-0
Order of finish: 3, 4, 6, 1, 2, 5
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.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,4,6,1,2,5
Players Mentioned
