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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
VCU
Men’s Tennis Punches Ticket to NCAA Second Round After Sweeping VCU
5/6/2023 | Men's Tennis
Rebels Earn 4-0 Win Over the Rams to Reach the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Ole Miss men's tennis team is marching on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after the Rebels claimed a convincing 4-0 victory in their opening round matchup with VCU on Saturday.
The Rebels (18-9, 6-6 SEC) set the tone right from the beginning against the Rams (20-6, 2-0 A-10) with a hard-fought doubles victory to take a 1-0 lead early on. It was then the bottom three spots of the Rebel lineup that delivered the clinching blow in singles, with the No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 positions all earning wins on the day.
"The guys did a great job in doubles and that really was a key point today," head coach Toby Hansson said. "It was good to get two quick points on five and six singles, and then for Lukas to close out the match with a great service game."
"It was a great team win where everyone had a great attitude from start to finish."
This marks just the second time in the last five seasons that the Rebels have reached the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. The Ole Miss squad now aims to return to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2021.
The Rebels were put to the test early on by the Atlantic 10 conference champions, as all three doubles matches would end up being played to seven. Despite this, the Rebels held their ground against some difficult doubles opponents.
The No. 1 doubles duo of Simon Junk and John Hallquist Lithen would strike first for the Rebels, claiming a ranked doubles victory over VCU's Matisse and Charles Bertimon. The Ole Miss pair captured a 7-5 victory over the No. 83 doubles team in the country, setting the Rebels up for a clinching opportunity.
VCU was able to respond back with a 7-5 doubles win of their own on Court 2, turning all of the attention to Court 3 for the deciding doubles match. Heading into a tiebreaker, Nikola Slavic and Noah Schlagenhauf were entering one of their biggest moments of the season.
Despite having lost a 3-0 lead to open their match, the Rebels' senior-freshman combo kept their reserve right into the tiebreaker, controlling the match on a point-by-point basis. A quick overhead slam by Slavic was all she wrote, as the pair clinched the match and doubles point for the Rebels, giving the team an early 1-0 advantage.
"It was a great feeling to clinch the doubles for the team," Schlagenhauf said. "It was a tough match because we had started so good but then kind of lost it. What matters is that we somehow found a way to win."
In singles action, the Rebels got to work right away with a pair of swift straight-set victories from two of the team's youngest competitors. Freshmen Noah Schlagenhauf and Isac Strömberg each came away with convincing victories for the team in the No. 5 and No. 6 positions, putting Ole Miss just one more win away from earning their spot in the second round.
Strömberg would strike first, cruising his way to a 6-1, 6-3 victory on Court 6 in his first taste of NCAA Tournament action. Schlagenhauf was quick to follow his fellow first-year up with a win of his own, taking Court 5 singles by a score of 6-3, 6-3.
"I had a good start and was just playing confident during the whole match," Schlagenhauf said. "Even if I had some downs I knew the match was only depending on me, so I was able to get my composure back."
Now just a win away from the win over the Rams, the Rebels turned to senior Lukas Engelhardt to deal the deciding blow to the VCU squad. Sitting on a comfortable lead, Engelhardt clinched the Rebel victory in style, clinching the team's match victory with an ace to close out his match with a 6-4, 6-2 win.
The remaining three matches for the Rebels went unfinished on the day.
Up Next
The Rebels will now wait to learn their opponent for Sunday's Round of 32 matchup in Charlottesville, as the team will either take on regional host Virginia (24-4, 12-0 ACC) or Patriot League conference champion Navy (23-19, 6-0 Patriot). Match time for Sunday is currently slated for 12 p.m. CT at Boar's Head Sports Club.
Ole Miss 4, VCU 0
Doubles
John Hallquist Lithen/Simon Junk (OM) def. No. 83 C. Bertimon/M. Bertimon (VCU) 7-5
Bobichon/Stable (VCU) def. Lukas Engelhardt/Isac Strömberg (OM) 7-5
Nikola Slavic/Noah Schlagenhauf (OM) def. Gales/Almeida (VCU) 7-6(5)
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
No. 64 Nikola Slavic (OM) vs. No. 105 Matisse Bobichon (VCU) 2-6, 6-3 unfinished
John Hallquist Lithen (OM) vs. No. 83 Charles Bertimon (VCU) 6-7(4), 0-1 unfinished
Simon Junk (OM) vs. Rayane Stable (VCU) 5-7, 2-3 unfinished
Lukas Engelhardt (OM) def. Maxence Bertimon (VCU) 6-4, 6-2
Noah Schlagenhauf (OM) def. Romain Gales (VCU) 6-3, 6-3
Isac Strömberg (OM) def. Joaquim Almeida (VCU) 6-1, 6-3
Order of finish: 6, 5, 4
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:
1,2,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
6,5,4
Players Mentioned
