Ole Miss men’s tennis senior Nik Scholtz tweeted after his NCAA singles first round match “Some things are just not meant to be….” It was about as tough a way to finish up his singles career as one can imagine, serving for the match against the nation’s No. 1 ranked player before seeing Oklahoma’s Axel Alvarez rally to win it in three.
Scholtz, ranked No. 18, was up a set and serving for the match at 5-3. He had two match points, but Alvarez rallied to get the break and then held serve for 5-5. It would go to a tiebreaker, and Alvarez jumped out to an early lead and held on to win it 7-6(3).
Alvarez used the momentum he gained from winning five straight games in the second set to gain an early 3-0 lead in the final set. Scholtz couldn’t wrestle away control from Alvarez, who closed it out 6-1 to advance to the second round.
Scholtz seemed to have all the momentum on his side when he broke Alvarez right away in the match and dug out of a 0-40 hole on his service game to go up 2-0 in the first set. He held the rest of the way to take the first set 6-3. At 2-1 in the second set, Scholtz broke and held for a 4-1 lead. Serving for it at 5-3, he faced his a break point at 30-40, before winning two straight points to secure his first match point. He would get another match point on an overhead, but Alvarez answered, winning the next three points to pull within 5-4.
“Nik didn’t reach his normal level today,” head coach Toby Hansson said.
Scholtz will team up with freshman Zvonimir Babic in the doubles beginning Thursday. The times for the doubles will be set following the conclusion of the first round singles.
All matches will feature live scoring and live video at the NCAA Championship Central page.
For more information on Ole Miss Men’s Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMTennis, on Facebook at OleMissMTennis and on Instagram at OleMissMTennis.
NCAA Singles Championship – Waco, Texas
First round – (1) Axel Alvarez (OU) def. (18) Nik Scholtz (OM) 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-1
