Men’s Tennis Opens Fall Season With SEC/Big Ten Challenge

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Ole Miss men's tennis is set to kick off their fall season with the playing of the SEC/Big Ten Challenge hosted by the University of Alabama, September 15-17.

Lukas Engelhardt, John Hallquist Lithén, Nikola Slavic, Noah Schlagenhauf, Isac Strömberg, and Gordon Whitwell are all set to make the trip to Tuscaloosa for the Rebels, marking the second consecutive year the team has traveled to the University of Alabama for a fall tournament.

Hosted at the University of Alabama Tennis Stadium, the three-day event will consist of a hidden dual setup. The tournament's field features a total of six teams, five of which concluded the 2022-23 season in the ITA Top 75 Team Rankings.

Doubles will be one set to six (no ad) while singles will be two out of three full sets (just like a dual match). The doubles matches against Wisconsin were moved to Saturday to accommodate teams traveling.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, September 15
            12 p.m. | One round of doubles followed by one round singles (vs. Michigan)

Saturday, September 16
            10 a.m. | One round of doubles (vs. Purdue)
            10:45 a.m. | One round of doubles (vs. Wisconsin)
            11:30 a.m. | One round of singles (vs. Purdue)

Sunday, September 17
            10 a.m. | One round of singles (vs. Wisconsin)

THE REBELS
Lukas Engelhardt (Sr.) – Augsburg, Germany
- Enters 2023 fall season ranked No. 8 in doubles by the ITA alongside Nikola Slavic
- Concluded the 2022-23 season with a 17-19 singles record and 18-8 doubles record
- NCAA Double Championships alternate with partner Nikola Slavic
- Recognized as 2023 ITA Scholar-Athlete

John Hallquist Lithén (Sr.) - Gothenburg, Sweden
- Enters 2023 fall season ranked No. 77 in singles by the ITA
- Finished 2022-23 with a record of 22-9 in singles and 15-20 in doubles
- Advanced to the ITA National Fall Championship with Simon Junk
- 2023 All-SEC Second Team selection

Nikola Slavic (Sr.) – Stockholm, Sweden
- Enters 2023 fall season ranked No. 8 in doubles by the ITA alongside Lukas Engelhardt
- Enters 2023 fall season ranked No. 34 in singles by the ITA
- Concluded the 2022-23 season with a 18-12 singles record and 19-11 doubles record
- 2023 All-SEC Second Team selection

Noah Schlagenhauf (So.) – Buertingen, Germany
- Compiled a 12-9 singles record and 7-9 doubles record in the 2022-23 season
- Went 2-0 in singles during the ITA Kickoff Weekend
- Tallied a 7-3 singles record in non-conference play
- Recognized as 2023 ITA Scholar-Athlete

Isac Strömberg (So.) – Stockholm, Sweden
- Compiled a 12-12 singles record and 7-16 doubles record in the 2023 season
- Went 10-4 in singles to start the spring season
- Clinched four matches for the Rebels in singles
- Secured the doubles point four times

Gordon Whitwell (So.) – Oxford, Miss.
- Saw action in 12 singles matches and six doubles matches
- Finished 2022-23 with a record of 6-9 in singles
- Clinched his first collegiate singles in against Belmont with a 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-4 victory
- SEC First Year Academic Honor Roll

DAY ONE DRAWS
Doubles
- Engelhardt/Slavic vs. Bickersteth/Steiglehner (Michigan)
- Hallquist Lithén/Schlagenhauf vs. Cairo/Oral (Michigan)
- Stromberg/Whitwell vs. Ali-Kahn/Simeunovic (Purdue)

Singles
- Hallquist Lithén vs. Bickersteth (Michigan)
- Slavic vs. Steiglehner (Michigan)
- Schlagenhauf vs. Cairo (Michigan)
- Engelhardt vs. Oral (Michigan)
- Stromberg vs. Ali-Kahn (Purdue)
- Whitwell vs. Simeunovic (Purdue)

THE FIELD
Alabama
Auburn
Michigan
Ole Miss
Purdue
Wisconsin

LIVE SCORING/VIDEO
Live scoring will be available for all three days in Tuscaloosa. Live video will be available for all doubles matches and the main courts for singles. All links are provided above which leads to the main hub of all court streams.

FALL SLATE
The Rebels have a busy fall schedule ahead of them in preparation for the beginning of the team's dual schedule at the turn of the new year. Following the team's trip to Tuscaloosa, the Rebels will head to Tulsa, Okla., for the annual ITA All-American Championships, which are set to run Sept. 30-Oct. 8. The team will then head to Auburn University for this year's installment of the ITA Regional Championships, Oct. 12-17. The Rebels' fall season then concludes with a doubleheader weekend consisting of the ITA Future Fayetteville (Oct. 29-Nov. 5) in Fayetteville, Ark., and the ITA Fall Championships (Nov. 1-5) in San Diego, Calif.

FOLLOW THE REBELS ON SOCIAL
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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Players Mentioned

Lukas Engelhardt

Simon Junk

Noah Schlagenhauf

Nikola Slavic

Gordon Whitwell

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