Championship Week: Ole Miss men’s tennis sends No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles to NCAA Individuals

OLE MISS ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS | Four Ole Miss tennis Rebels are stringing-up for the culminating event of the 2022 spring tennis season, the NCAA Individual Championships, on Monday.

Nikola Slavic is set to represent the Rebels in singles, and Finn Reynolds and Lukas Engelhardt are gearing-up for doubles competition. This years’ event is hosted by Illinois and commences tomorrow, with the finals set to bring the event to a close on Saturday.

The NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships will be played outdoors at Illinois’ Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex. Tickets to each individual day sessions from Monday through Friday are $12 for general admission seating.

The Rebels turn full attention to individual NCAA competition this week after competing in NCAA Team Tournament action two weekends ago. Ole Miss reached the NCAA Team Championships for the 30th time in program history, however, the Reels fell, 4-2, to Utah in the Round of 64.

The NCAA Singles Championship features a field of 64 individual student-athletes, and the NCAA Doubles Championship contains 32 pairings representing various universities. Both tournaments are single elimination.

Nikola Slavic heads to the NCAA Singles Championship with a career-best ITA individual ranking at No. 14.

The third-year Rebel is set to compete in his second-straight NCAA Singles Championship. He reached the Round of 64 last season.

NCAA Individual Championships first round matchups are to be determined, and the final bracket will be released prior to match time after the tournament field is fully finalized.

Follow along with Ole Miss Men’s Tennis social media for additional updated.

Slavic led all Rebels in singles victories this season with 22. He earned a 22-12 overall record and won a team-high nine matches versus ranked opponents.

He notably had a 13-9 record at No. 1 Singles for Ole Miss this season. Slavic was voted to the 2022 All-SEC First Team for the first time in his career.

Rebels No. 1 Doubles duo Finn Reynolds and Lukas Engelhardt head to Illinois ranked No. 19 in the country.

The two Rebels peaked at No. 2 in the ITA Doubles Rankings this season (March 9 voting). Reynolds and Engelhardt competed at No. 1 Doubles in all matches played together during 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, and the duo was the tournament’s top seed in 2021, when Reynolds and Tim Sandkaulen (Ole Miss ’21) reached the Round of 16.

Engelhardt will be making his first appearance in the NCAA Individual Championships.

All Individual Tournament Live Scoring Updates can be accessed via the Tournament Hub at:

https://fightingillini.com/sports/2022/1/2/2022-ncaa-tennis-championships.aspx

All live streaming of matches for NCAA Championships play can be found on the TennisOne app.

Ole Miss senior Sabina Machalova takes on NCAA Singles Championships on Monday

Fifth-year Rebel starter Sabina Machalova is set to compete in her final event representing Ole Miss.

Machalova will take to the NCAA Singles Championships starting Monday. The event, which is held at the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, will close out with the finals on Saturday.

The NCAA Singles Championships will be played outdoors at Illinois’ Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex. Tickets to each individual day sessions from Monday through Friday are $12 for general admission seating.

Machalova received an at-large selection into the 64-participant singles field.

The Rebel senior currently ranks No. 42 in the ITA Singles Rankings. Machalova has placed in the ITA top-50 in five different rankings this season. She reached as high as No. 27 individually (ITA Pre-Season).

The Zlin, Czechia, native led Ole Miss in more ways than one this season.

Machalova paced the Rebels with a team-high 22 singles victories and 10 ranked wins. She earned a 22-12 overall singles record, including a 7-5 record in SEC dual matches. She compiled a 10-8 record to finish with a winning record versus ITA ranked opponents this season.

Machalova was also recognized for her on-the-court achievements. She was named All-SEC first team for the second year in a row, and she was also voted to the SEC Community Service team off the court.

Machalova is competing in the SEC individual championships for the second consecutive year.

She reached the round of 64 in Orlando in 2021, and Machalova looks to be the first Rebel to win a NCAA Singles Championship match since Rebel alum Arianne Hartono came out on top in 2018.

Machalova’s first-round opponent is to be determined.

The final bracket will be released prior to match time after the tournament field is fully finalized. Follow along with Ole Miss Women’s Tennis social media for additional updated.

All Individual Tournament Live Scoring Updates can be accessed via the Tournament Hub at:

https://fightingillini.com/sports/2022/1/2/2022-ncaa-tennis-championships.aspx

All live streaming of matches for NCAA Championships play can be found on the TennisOne app.