The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Alabama
Men’s Tennis Earns Thrilling 4-3 Win Over Alabama
4/7/2023 | Men's Tennis
Freshman Isac Strömberg Clinches the Match on Court 6 for the Rebels
OXFORD, Miss. – Every win proved decisive for the No. 29 ranked Ole Miss men's tennis team on Friday, as the Rebels rolled up their sleeves to take down No. 56 Alabama by a score of 4-3.
The bottom of the lineup for the Rebels (15-6, 5-4 SEC) proved key for the Ole Miss victory, with wins on Courts 3, 4, 5 and 6 helping to navigate the Rebel squad past a scrappy Alabama (9-14, 1-9 SEC) side.
"Very close match for us again," head coach Toby Hansson said. "We had match point in doubles and didn't get it, but the guys started out from scratch in singles. It's nice to see us winning on Courts 3, 4, 5 and 6. I really don't think we've done that all year against a quality team like this one."
"This gives us a lot of confidence. We're just looking forward to Sunday that much more now."
The Rebels found themselves on the backfoot early on in doubles play, with the Crimson Tide taking an early lead with a 6-3 victory on Court 2. The other two matches, however, would find themselves in 6-6 tiebreakers with the match's doubles point on the line.
No. 1 doubles team Simon Junk and John Hallquist Lithen were able to get the team back on track in their matchup, as the recently ranked pairing took down No. 78 Filip Planinsek/German Samofalov 7-6(5). This marks the duo's third ranked doubles win of 2022-23, with all three coming in the team's previous four matches.
Over on Court 3, Nikola Slavic and Noah Schlagenhauf were in a battle of their own with the doubles point on the line. In a back-and-forth tiebreaker, the Rebels came up just short with Alabama taking the tiebreaker 9-7 to take the match 7-6. This put Alabama up 1-0 early heading into singles play.
The Rebels didn't hang their heads following a difficult break in doubles play, as a trio of straight-set wins for Ole Miss in singles flipped the script to help give the Rebels a 3-1 lead over the Tide.
Freshman Noah Schlagenhauf struck first, grinding out a 6-3, 6-4 win on Court 5 to win his third straight singles match. Not far behind him was Simon Junk, who nearly matched his fellow German's score in No. 3 singles with a 6-4, 6-3 victory of his own to give the Rebels the advantage.
Lukas Engelhardt marked the final straight-set win for the Rebels, as a 6-3 first set opened the Augsburg, Germany, native up to clinch with a 7-6(5) tiebreaker victory in set two. Engelhardt now increases his team-leading singles win streak to eight in a row.
Despite the Rebels jumping up 3-1, the Tide did not go quietly into the night with Alabama quickly claiming three-set wins in No. 1 and No. 2 singles to level the playing field at 3-3. All eyes then turned to Court 6, as freshman Isac Strömberg looked to deal the clinching blow to the Crimson Tide.
Having dropped his first set 6-3, Strömberg was on a mission to fight his way back into the match for his squad by earning a hard-fought 7-6(3) tiebreaker win in set two. This set the freshman up with one final set to earn the Rebels their fifth SEC win of the season.
After jumping up 5-2 against his opponent in the third, Strömberg slowly saw the lead dwindle until the scoreboard read 5-5. Keeping his head and showing the maturity of a senior, the Stockholm, Sweden, native brought home the final two games necessary to clinch the match on Court 6 and the team's match against the Tide, 4-3.
"Definitely some ups and downs for me today," Strömberg said. "I got into my match pretty late but fought my way back into it. I found myself up 5-2 in the third set but then he took it back to 5-5, but once I calmed back down again I was able to get the job done 7-5."
"It was an unbelievable feeling having the crowd and all of my teammates around me and cheering me on. One of the best feelings I've probably experienced in my life so far."
Up Next
The Rebels will now close out the team's home schedule with Senior Day on Sunday, April 9, at Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center against No. 21 Texas A&M (14-8, 6-3 SEC). The match against the Aggies is set to begin at 1 p.m. CT.
Ole Miss 4, Alabama 3
Doubles
No. 90 John Hallquist Lithen/Simon Junk (OM) def. No. 78 Planinsek/Samofalov (ALA) 7-6(5)
Aguiard/Foster (ALA) def. Lukas Engelhardt/Isac Strömberg (OM) 6-3
Ferreira/Ponce De Leon (ALA) def. Nikola Slavic/Noah Schlagenhauf (OM) 7-6(7)
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
No. 76 Filip Planinsek (ALA) def. No. 60 Nikola Slavic (OM) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
No. 116 Enzo Aguiard (ALA) def. John Hallquist Lithen (OM) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
Simon Junk (OM) def. Matias Ponce De Leon (ALA) 6-4, 6-3
Lukas Engelhardt (OM) def. German Samofalov (ALA) 6-3, 7-6(5)
Noah Schlagenhauf (OM) def. Yair Sarouk (ALA) 6-3, 6-4
Isac Strömberg (OM) def. Zach Foster (ALA) 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-5
Order of finish: 5, 3, 4, 2, 1, 6
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:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
5,3,4,2,1,6
Players Mentioned
