Men’s tennis prepares for NCAA Tournament match against VCU

			#26 OLE MISS (17-9,6-6 SEC) vs. #40VCU(20-5, 2-0 A-10) Saturday 6/5 at 9:00am CT Charlottesville, Va. Boar’s Head Sports Club

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. Ole Miss men’s tennis is scheduled to open the team’s NCAA Tournament on Saturday, May 6 with a first-round match against VCU at the Charlottesville Regional.

After finishing second in the Charlottesville region, the Rebels (17-9, 6-6 SEC) open their tournament with a matchup against Atlantic 10 Conference champion VCU (20-5, 2). -0 A-10). Saturday’s game is at 9:00 a.m. at the Boar’s Head Sports Club, with Ole Miss defeating either regional host Virginia (24-4, 12-0 ACC) or Patriot League conference champion Navy (23-19, 6-0). Patriot), on Sunday.

Tickets are $5 for general admission and $3 for students with valid ID per session. A ticket is required for children over 2 years old. Tickets can be purchased beginning Tuesday by calling the Virginia Athletics box office at 434-924-8821, online at UVAtix.comor on site at Boar’s Head Resort one hour before the event.

Live scores and live video of the first round match are available to the public. Links to both can be found above and on the Ole Miss men’s tennis schedule page.

Rebels in the rankings

Ole Miss enters the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 26 in the nation in the latest ITA Team Rankings. Senior Nicholas the Slav is still the only rebel in singles and is ranked 64. Slavic and teammate Lukas Engelhardt also continues in the ITA Doubles Rankings and ranks 44th in this week’s rankings.

Slavic and Lithen claimed All-SEC honors

Two Rebel men’s tennis players received All-Conference honors in the SEC’s end-of-season awards announced last week. Nicholas the Slav and John Hallquist Lithen both earned spots on the All-SEC Second Team for their efforts during the 2022-23 campaign. Slavic earns his third straight All-SEC honor for the Rebels, having been a first-team (2022) and second-team (2021) honoree for Ole Miss in previous years. Lithen earns his first conference recognition since 2021, when the Gothenburg, Sweden native earned a spot on the All-Freshman team.

Engelhardt was named to the SEC’s community service team

Ole Miss Men’s Tennis Senior Lukas Engelhardt was one of 13 student-athletes to earn a spot on the SEC Community Service Team, the Southeastern Conference announced in April. The SEC Community Service Team serves as the Southeastern Conference’s annual effort to highlight the accomplishments of student-athletes outside of competition. A total of 13 individuals representing each men’s tennis program in the conference were named to the SEC Community Service Team this season. A four-year starter for the Ole Miss men’s tennis team, Engelhardt has led the Rebels in getting the team into the community. Engelhardt has participated in several programs focused on improving the Oxford community during his playing career.

The Oxford advantage

The Rebels capped off an incredible season at home on Sunday with a 4-3 win over No. 21 Texas A&M, marking the Rebels’ 13th home win of the 2022-23 season. Finishing with a 13-3 record during their 16 matches hosted at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center and the William F. Galtney Tennis Center, this home win total for the Rebels is the most by an Ole Miss men’s tennis team since. in the 2006-07 season. The Rebels finished a perfect 14-0 in Oxford that year, just beating this year’s Rebel squad.

Court 1 Dream Team

Nicholas the Slav and Lukas Engelhardt have been on a tear for the Rebels at No. 1 doubles, earning a 9-3 record when playing together on Court 1 doubles this year. With a 15-7 overall record in 2022-23, the senior duo has yet to fall in a ranked quad match this season. It’s 3-0, which helped the Ole Miss tandem slide to No. 40 in the latest ITA Doubles Rankings. . While the pair will likely split this weekend, the duo continues to pose a threat to the Rebels, who advance in the SEC Tournament with their respective doubles.

Historic pipeline for rebels

Before the Rebels lost to the Florida Gators earlier in the season, the team found themselves on a historic winning streak, having won their previous nine straight dual meets. The streak is the Rebels’ longest since the 2008-09 season, when Ole Miss strung together an incredible 20-game winning streak en route to 10-0 SEC play, winning both the SEC regular season and the SEC Tournament. titles. That Rebel team’s season would end with a loss in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament, ending the year with a 27-3 record.

Team Profile: VCU

The Virginia Commonwealth University Rams (20-5, 2-0 A-10) will provide an early challenge to the Rebels in the 2023 NCAA Tournament as VCU enters the matchup with Ole Miss as the No. 40 team in the nation. The Rams lost just five games on the season and finished undefeated in conference play en route to earning their sixth straight Atlantic 10 Conference Championship. The Rams are led in singles by two ranked individuals in Charles Bertimon and Matisse Bobichon, who are ranked No. 83 and No. 105 in the country. The pair has a combined 51 singles wins this season, a tough challenge at the No. 1 and No. 2 singles spots. Bertimon also ranks alongside his brother Maxence in doubles, as the duo is ranked 83rd in the country this season with a doubles record of 17-8.

Follow the Rebels on social media

For more information on Ole Miss Men’s Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMTennison Facebook at OleMissMTennis and on Instagram at OleMissMTennisfollow Coach Hansson on Twitter at @TennisToby.