Ole Miss men’s and women’s tennis teams both saw action and came out undefeated over the weekend, as the men traveled to Oklahoma City to face the Oklahoma State University Cowboys on Friday and the women hosted Tulane at the William F. Galtney Tennis Center.
The men edged past No. 20 Oklahoma State, winning 4-3 in dramatic fashion. Fabian Fallert was the hero of the Rebels’ first win over a ranked squad this season, securing the match-winning point with a two-set victory in singles play.
The Rebels started the day on top and took the doubles point with wins from duos Tim Sandkaulen and Filip Kraljevic as well as Fallert and Cotter Wilson. Ole Miss stayed hot heading into singles play with Sandkaulen coasting to a win, only conceding two games to Matej Vocel in the first singles match.
The Cowboys, however, would not go down easily, as OSU’s Luke Hammond beat freshman Simon Junk, and Kraljevic fell to Artur Dubinski.
After Karlo Kranic helped take the lead back with his first collegiate singles dual-match victory, OSU evened the score once again with a win over Wilson.
With the score tied at 3-3, the match was in the hands of Fallert. He delivered a win featuring a six-point tiebreak in the opening set.
“Right out of the gates, we looked sharp today. The energy was there in doubles and carried over into singles,” head coach Toby Hansson said after the match. “Overall, this was a great team win. I couldn’t be more proud of our efforts.”
The win put the Ole Miss men’s team at 3-3 on the season, with losses to No. 15 Texas, San Diego and Indiana. They’ll be back in action Saturday, Feb. 9 when Alcorn State comes to Oxford for two matches at noon and 2 p.m.
“We faced a lot of different adverse situations in the early goings of the season, and the guys continue to respond the right way, regardless of the circumstances,” Hansson said.
The women’s team coasted to a 5-2 win over Tulane on Sunday, giving the Green Wave its first loss of the season. The Rebels started fast, earning the doubles point with a 6-0 win from duo Tea Jandric and Sabina Machalova and a 6-1 win for Cameron Kriscunas and Alexa Bortles.
Already up 1-0, the Rebels kept their foot on the gas in the singles match round. No. 68 Machalova handled Tulane’s Laura Fabrizi, winning both sets 6-0 in the first singles match. No. 112 Janatova soon followed with a victory of her own, winning her sets 6-1 and 6-2.
Bortles and Jandric also enjoyed two-set singles wins to finish off the Green Wave.
The Rebels’ dominant performance in their first win of the season is a much-needed spark of momentum after a tough outing in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend a week ago, which featured losses to Purdue and Michigan.
The women’s team, now 1-2 on the season, also hosts Alcorn State for two matches for their next match on Wednesday, Feb. 13. First serve is set for 1 p.m., and the two squads will play again immediately after.
