NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Ole Miss men’s tennis team returned to the win column on Sunday, as the Rebels were able to take down No. 70 Vanderbilt in Nashville, 5-2.
The Rebels (13-5, 3-3 SEC) battled their way to a tight doubles victory, which set the tone early for Ole Miss. Key third-set wins by the Rebels in singles proved to be the deciding factor, as the Commodores (6-12, 1-6 SEC) were only able to win one of four matches that went to three sets.
Ole Miss found itself on the backfoot early in doubles play, with Vanderbilt claiming a win on Court 2 doubles to threaten to take the doubles point.
The Rebels responded with an upset on Court 1, as the duo of Simon Junk and John Hallquist Lithen powered through a difficult matchup in No. 35 ranked Troost/Casabon to claim a 6-4 victory, leveling the playing field. The win marks the first ranked doubles win for Junk/Lithen this season, as well as the fourth ranked doubles win for the Rebels as a team.
All attention then turned to Court 3 doubles, as Nikola Slavic and Noah Schlagenhauf found themselves in a third-set tiebreaker to decide the doubles point. The senior-freshman combo proved clutch for the Rebels, with the pair clawing their way to a 7-4 tiebreaker win to put Ole Miss up 1-0.
Heading into singles, senior Simon Junk kept his foot on the gas following his ranked doubles win, with the Marpingen, Germany, native capturing a 7-6(4), 6-3 straight-set win to put the Rebels up 2-0. A quick response from Vanderbilt on Court 4 would bring the score to 2-1, as the remaining four matches made their way to third sets.
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