Men’s Tennis Completes Thrilling Comeback Victory Over Arkansas

OXFORD, Miss. – The No. 53 Ole Miss men's tennis team fought through a difficult clash with the 45th-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks as the Rebels came from behind and secured a 4-3 victory at the William F. Galtney Indoor Tennis Center on Friday.

The Rebels (9-6, 2-2 SEC) were down early after dropping the match's doubles point to the Razorbacks (13-6, 1-3 SEC), but clutch wins in singles and a clinching blow from sophomore Noah Schlagenhauf helped the Rebels to defend home court. This matchup marks Ole Miss' sixth consecutive win against Arkansas and second ranked victory of the season.

Ole Miss found itself down early to Arkansas with quick doubles victories on courts one and three putting the Razorbacks up 1-0 heading into singles play. The Razorbacks kept their momentum going into singles as Isac Stromberg dropped his match, 6-1, 6-4, on court three to give the Rebels a 2-0 deficit.

Lukas Engelhardt wouldn't let that last for long, however, as the senior came up big by forcing a third set and ultimately won on court four, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. With the pivotal win by the Augsburg, Germany, native, the Rebels sat just one point behind the Razorbacks at 2-1.

Not long after, Ole Miss returned to their backfoot following a straight set victory for Arkansas on court six after Carson Baker forced a tiebreaker in the first set, but ultimately dropped the match. The Rebels now looked to two of their oldest players and one of their youngest to sweep out the remaining three matches in order to clinch the victory.

First, Nikola Slavic turned over the momentum for the Rebels after earning a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 win on court one and improving his season dual singles record to an impressive 11-1.

John Hallquist Lithen drew the Rebels back to even with the Razorbacks, battling through a back-and-forth match. After securing the first set, the senior fought his way through a lengthy tiebreaker in the second to get his 12th singles win of the year on court two, 6-3, 7-6 (19-17).

Although Schlagenhauf has been battling with injuries throughout the spring season, he knew he had to fight through it and step up to the plate in order to clinch the match. Proving his clutch factor for the Rebel squad, the sophomore delivered with all eyes on him as he fought to earn a 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 victory on court five.

Up Next
Ole Miss will have a quick turnaround this weekend as the Rebels will play host to No. 64 Vanderbilt (9-7, 0-4 SEC) on Sunday staring at 1 p.m. CT at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.

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.

#53 Ole Miss 4, #45 Arkansas 3

Singles
1. Nikola Slavic (OM) def. Bozo Barun (ARKM) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
2. J. Hallquist Lithen (OM) def. Melvin Manuel (ARKM) 6-3, 7-6 (19-17)
3. Gerard Planelles (ARKM) def. Isac Stromberg (OM) 6-1, 6-4
4. Lukas Engelhardt (OM) def. Stefanos Savva (ARKM) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
5. Noah Schlagenhauf (OM) def. Karlo Kajin (ARKM) 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4
6. Benedikt Emesz (ARKM) def. Carson Baker (OM) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2

Doubles
1. Jared Horwood/Bozo Barun (ARKM) def. #54 Nikola Slavic/Lukas Engelhardt (OM) 6-3
2. Carson Baker/J. Hallquist Lithen (OM) vs. Connor Smillie/Jake Sweeney (ARKM) 5-4, unfinished
3. Melvin Manuel/Alan Sau Franco (ARKM) def. Isac Stromberg/Noah Schlagenhauf (OM) 7-5

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,4,6,1,2,5)

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Carson Baker

Lukas Engelhardt

Noah Schlagenhauf

Nikola Slavic

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