URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 1 Ole Miss Men’s Tennis Singles player Nikola Slavic’s season came to an end on Monday with a first-round exit in the NCAA Singles Championships.
Slavic, ranked No. 14 in the ITA Individual Rankings, received the No. 16 overall seed in the 64-participant singles draw. Slavic has competed in the NCAA Singles Championships in back-to-back season, falling in the first round in both the 2021 and 2022 events.
Slavic and Moroni fought tooth and nail throughout the match in a close two sets. Ultimately, Morini was the victor, winning both sets in tiebreaks.
Slavic and Moroni remained deadlocked at 3-3 in the first set prior to Slavic earning a crucial break and hold to go up 5-3. Moroni answered, leveling the match 5-5. The two players traded games again to 6-6 prior to Moroni taking the first, 7-6.
The two student-athletes exchanged game-for-game in the second set, returning to a 6-6 tiebreak. Slavic went ahead 6-5 in the tiebreak, with a chance to take the set. Moroni won the next point to go 6-6 and change sides. The Demon Deacon then won the next two more points to win the tiebreak 8-6 and take the match 7-6, 7-6 overall.
Slavic ends the 2021-22 season with a 22-13 overall singles record. He was named to the All SEC First-Team this season and was also voted the SEC Player of the Week once. Slavic has two years remaining of collegiate tennis eligibility.
Up Next: Ole Miss No. 1 Doubles duo Finn Reynolds and Lukas Engelhardt face No. 2 seed Matej Vocel and Robert Cash in the first round of the NCAA Doubles Championships tomorrow. The NCAA Doubles Championship features a field of 32 teams.
Reynolds and Engelhardt head to Illinois ranked No. 19 in the country. The two Rebels peaked in the ITA Doubles Rankings at No. 2 this season (March 9 voting). Reynolds and Engelhardt competed at No. 1 Doubles in all matches played together in the 2021-22 season. The tandem earned a 12-11 record and won two matches versus ranked opponents. Their 12 victories were tied for the most among any Ole Miss doubles combination with John Hallquist Lithén and Nikola Slavic.
Reynolds is set to compete in his second-consecutive NCAA Doubles Championship. As the tournament’s top seed in 2021, Reynolds and Tim Sandkaulen (Ole Miss ’21) reached the Round of 16. Engelhardt prepares to…
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