Men's Tennis Challenges 59th-Ranked Ole Miss in Monday Doubleheader

OXFORD, Miss. – For only the second and third times in recent program history, the Belmont University men's tennis team won a doubles point against a Power Five conference opponent Monday at 59th-ranked Ole Miss as the Bruins pushed the host Rebels well past their comfort in a doubleheader. Belmont (6-4) went undefeated in doubles on the day and forced multiple three-set matches in singles play in 6-1 and 4-2 road setbacks at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center in Oxford, Mississippi.
 
Ole Miss (11-2) narrowly escaped the upset in the morning match, ultimately prevailing with five-straight third set victories at No. 2-6 singles. In the afternoon, the Bruins got a No. 5 singles win from junior Tomas Luis after dominant doubles triumphs at the second and third spots.
 
Graduate student Marko Ilic and junior Riccardo Trione got the opening match underway with a 6-4 win at the top doubles position against the Rebels' Nikola Slavic and Lukas Engelhardt. The No. 3 doubles duo of Luis and sophomore Ian Cruz then clinched the doubles point for Belmont with a 7-5 victory over Ole Miss' Isac Stromberg and Walker Stearns.
 
Senior Jack Randall and junior Alfred Wallin were leading 6-5 at No. 2 doubles against the Rebels' Simon Junk and John Hallquist Lithén when the Bruins secured the morning's doubles point.
 
Ranked 68th in the nation in singles, Slavic quickly evened the match at 1-1 with a straight-set win at No. 1 singles. It would be the only straight-set match of the morning as Belmont took the first set in three of the next five singles matches.
 
Wallin topped Hallquist Lithén 7-5 in set one at No. 2 singles, while Cruz defeated Junk 6-2 in the first set at No. 3 singles. At No. 5 singles, Luis beat Stromberg 6-4 in the opening set.
 
Randall nearly won the first set against Ole Miss' Gordon Whitwell in 7-4 tiebreak at the sixth spot, before evening the match with a 6-1 set two win. After dropping the opening set 6-2 at No. 4 singles against Engelhardt, Trione forced a decisive third set with a 7-5 second set.
 
Wallin and Cruz both headed to third sets as well at No. 2 and No. 3 singles after being outdone 6-3 and 6-4, respectively, in their second sets. Luis nearly gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead with a set two tiebreaker that went Stromberg's way, 7-4, at the fifth position. The tiebreak seemed to be the turning point in the match as the Rebels won each of the five third sets.
 
Ole Miss finished match one of the doubleheader with 6-0, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 and 6-4 set three wins at No. 2-6 singles, respectively.
 
Earning their second doubles triumph of the day at the third spot, Cruz and Luis cruised to a 6-1 victory over Stromberg and Stearns to begin the afternoon's action. Moments later, Randall and Wallin took care of Junk and Hallquist Lithén 6-2 at No. 2 doubles to clinch Belmont's second doubles point.
 
The top doubles position went unfinished where Ilic and Trione trailed Slavic and Engelhardt 5-2.
 
The Bruins captured their second point of the match and Belmont's first singles win when Luis upended Stromberg 7-6, 6-1 at the fifth spot.
 
Sophomore Gabriel Sardo was in a battle at No. 6 singles with Whitwell when the match went final. After narrowly being edged 7-5 in an opening set tiebreaker, Sardo trailed 3-2 in the second set.
 
Both Wallin against 68th-ranked Slavic at No. 1 singles and Ilic against Hallquist Lithén at No. 2 singles claimed five games off their opponents. Trione took on Junk at No. 3 singles and forced an opening set tiebreaker and Cruz won seven games against Engelhardt at No. 4 singles.
 
Up Next
The Bruins return to the Music City following their strenuous five-match road stretch and welcome Richmond indoors at the Ensworth Tennis Center Friday. First serve is slated for 4 p.m. On Saturday, Belmont heads back down to the Magnolia State to face another nationally-ranked Southeastern Conference opponent in Mississippi State.
 
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