Michigan
Mississippi
Wolverines Defeat Ole Miss at ITA Kick-Off, Earn Bid to Team Championship
1/25/2020 11:45:00 PM | Men's Tennis
» Ondrej Styler won the final match in a third-set tiebreaker to give Michigan a 4-3 win over Mississippi in the ITA Kick-Off in Champaign, Illinois.
» With the win, Michigan advances to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship from Feb. 14-17 in Madison, Wisconsin.
» Nick Beaty and Mattias Siimar remain undefeated in singles play.
Site: Champaign, Illinois (Atkins Tennis Center)
Result: #20 Michigan 4, Mississippi 3
Records: U-M (4-1), Mississippi (5-1)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 1 -- vs. TCU (Varsity Tennis Center), Noon
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Freshman Ondrej Styler won a third-set tiebreaker in the last match on court to give the University of Michigan men's tennis team a 4-3 victory over Mississippi on Saturday night (Jan. 25) in the ITA Kick-Off at Atkins Tennis Center. With the victory, the Wolverines finished the weekend 2-0 and earned a spot in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, Feb. 14-17 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Styler took on Mississippi's Finn Reynolds at No. 3 singles with the team score tied at 3-3, and fell in a first-set tiebreak, 7-6 (1). Styler bounced back in the second set, 6-4, to set up a third-set showdown. Reynolds took an early 2-1 lead in the set, but Styler rallied and took a 5-3 advantage. Reynolds clawed his way to a 6-5 lead; however Styler tied the set at 6-6 and forced the second tiebreak of the match.
With the tiebreak tied at 3-3, Styler served up an ace combined with errors from Reynolds to take the tiebreak, 7-6 (4), and the team match.
"It's an incredible moment for our team," head coach Adam Steinberg said. "For our program and where we started five years ago, we are checking off boxes. Last year, we made the NCAA round of 32, check. This year we're going to the ITA as one of the top 16 teams in the country. I'm beyond happy for the guys. They had incredible matches and for a freshman to come up big like Styler did was amazing."
Michigan had fast start to the night, with two dominant performances in doubles play that gave the Maize and Blue a 1-0 advantage heading into singles. The Wolverines have won the doubles point in each of their five matches this season.
Harrison Brown and Kristofer Siimar quickly surged ahead to 5-0 lead. They dropped the next game, but quickly recovered and were able to secure a 6-1 victory in the first match.
At No. 2 doubles, Connor Johnston and Styler had to battle early on, as the first four games stayed on serve. But after they were able to break Ole Miss, they finished off the team of Lukas Engelhardt and Nikola Slavic, 6-2.
In singles play, senior Nick Beaty continued to dominate and stay undefeated with a 6-2, 6-1 final score at No. 5. A few minutes later, another dominant Wolverine victory from Mattias Siimar at No. 2 gave Michigan a 3-0 advantage with some tough matches in progress. Siimar also remains undefeated on the year.
The Rebels started to come back, earning a win at No. 6 and No. 1 singles to make it a 3-2 match.
Michigan will host a double-dual next Saturday (Feb. 1) when they host TCU at noon and Western Michigan at 6 p.m. at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- Tim Sandkaulen (Mississippi) d. No. 78 Andrew Fenty (U-M), 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 -- Mattias Siimar (U-M) d. Jan Soren Hain (Mississippi), 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 -- No. 94 Ondrej Styler (U-M) d. Finn Reynolds (Mississippi), 6-7 (1), 6-3, 7-6 (4)
No. 4 -- Nikola Slavic (Mississippi) d. Connor Johnston (U-M), 7-6 (4), 6-3
No. 5 -- Nick Beaty (U-M) d. Lukas Englehardt (Mississippi), 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 -- Simon Junk (Mississippi) d. Ryan Fu (U-M), 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 5 Mattias Siimar/Andrew Fenty (U-M) vs. Tim Sandkaulen/Finn Reynolds (Mississippi), 4-5 unfinished
No. 2 -- Connor Johnston/Ondrej Styler (U-M) d. Lukas Engelhardt/Nikola Slavic (Mississippi), 6-2
No. 3 -- Harrison Brown/Kristofer Siimar (U-M) d.Simon Junk/Jan Soren Hain (Mississippi), 6-1
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2, Singles 5-6-2-1-4-3
Players Mentioned
