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Kentucky
Men’s Tennis Falls 4-0 in Conference Clash with Kentucky
3/24/2023 | Men's Tennis
Rebels Drop Doubles, Court 1, 3 and 4 Singles to Move to 12-5 on the Year
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Ole Miss men's tennis came up short in their matchup with reigning national runners-up Kentucky on Friday, as the Rebels ended up falling 4-0 to the Wildcats in Lexington.
The Rebels (12-5, 2-3 SEC) were unable to conjure up any momentum against the Wildcats (18-2, 6-1 SEC) on the day, with the No. 6 ranked Kentucky squad only dropping one set to Ole Miss in singles en route to their sweep victory.
Kentucky came out strong from the beginning, earning the match's doubles point after claiming wins on Court 1 and Court 2 over the Rebels. The match served as an experimental one for the Rebels, with two of the three doubles pairings playing in their first matches together this spring. John Hallquist Lithen and Simon Junk also made the move up to No. 1 singles for the Rebels, falling 6-3 in their match.
Moving to singles play, the Rebels fought hard to battle back against the Wildcats with John Hallquist Lithen winning his opening set of No. 2 singles 6-4 to help fire the team up. The Kentucky squad maintained their form from doubles, however, capturing a quick 6-0, 6-0 win on Court 3 to increase their lead to 2-0.
Now in the driver's seat, Kentucky carried their momentum to the finish line with straight-set wins over Noah Schlagenhauf on Court 5 and Nikola Slavic on Court 1 to clinch the 4-0 victory for the Wildcats. The loss moves Ole Miss to 12-5 on the season and 2-3 in SEC play, heading into their Sunday matchup with Vanderbilt.
Singles matches for John Hallquist Lithen, Lukas Engelhardt and Isac Strömberg would all go unfinished for the Rebels.
Up Next
The Rebels now turn their attention to a Sunday meeting with No. 70 Vanderbilt (6-10, 1-4 SEC), marking the final match of the team's three-match road spell dating back to last weekend. The match is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT at the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center in Nashville.
Ole Miss 0, Kentucky 4
Doubles
No. 25 Ayeni/Baadi (UK) def. John Hallquist Lithen/Simon Junk (OM) 6-3
No. 38 Lapadat/Mercer (UK) def. Lukas Engelhardt/Isac Strömberg (OM) 6-3
Nikola Slavic/Noah Schlagenhauf (OM) vs. Draxl/Weekes (UK) 4-5 unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 2
Singles
No. 22 Liam Draxl (UK) def. No. 66 Nikola Slavic (OM) 6-4, 6-1
John Hallquist Lithen (OM) vs. No. 27 Alafia Ayeni (UK) 6-4, 3-6, 2-0 unfinished
No. 44 Joshua Lapadat (UK) def. Simon Junk (OM) 6-0, 6-0
Taha Baadi (UK) def. Noah Schlagenhauf (OM) 6-2, 7-5
Lukas Engelhardt (OM) vs. Jaden Weekes (UK) 3-1 unfinished
Isac Strömberg (OM) vs. Charlelie Cosnet (UK) unfinished
Order of finish: 3, 4, 1
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:
1,2
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,4,1
Players Mentioned
