Shorthanded Rebels Battle No. 14 Georgia to the End

Tim Sandkaulen earned his first SEC win at No. 1 singles and freshman Finn Reynolds picked up his first SEC win of his career, but the Ole Miss men’s tennis team came up short against No. 14 Georgia here Friday at the Ole Miss Indoor Tennis Center.
Down two starters, the Rebels made a valiant effort, but the Bulldogs came away with the 5-2 win after winning the doubles point and two quick singles wins on courts two and three to go up 3-0.
Sandkaulen, ranked No. 19, got the Rebels on the board with an impressive 6-2, 6-3 win against 47^th-ranked Emil Reinberg at No. 1 singles.
Reynolds fired up the crowd when he finished off a 6-4, 7-5 win against Georgia’s Alex Diaz on court six to get the Rebels within one.
With junior Filip Kraljevic having just split sets on court four against 21^st-ranked Jan Zielinski, Georgia closed out the match, as Robert Loeb defeated Cotter Wilson 6-3, 6-3 on court five.
 
Quick Hits…
• The Rebels are now 9-6 overall and 1-4 in the SEC.
• Tim Sandkaulen improved to 16-7 overall, 7-4 in dual matches and earned his first SEC win at No. 1 singles.
• Finn Reynolds earned his first SEC win and improved to 3-2 overall.
#14 Georgia 5, #31 Ole Miss 2
Doubles
1. Jan Zielinski/Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Zvonimir Babic/Filip Kraljevic (OM) 6-3
2. Tim Sandkaulen/Grey Hamilton (OM) def. Wayne Montgomery/Nathan Ponwith (UGA) 6-3
3. Robert Loeb/Alex Diaz (UGA) def. Cotter Wilson/Finn Reynolds (OM) 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1. #19 Tim Sandkaulen (OM) def. #47 Emil Reinberg (UGA) 6-2, 6-3
2. #24 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) def. Grey Hamilton (OM) 6-4, 6-1
3. #81 Nathan Ponwith (UGA) def. Zvonimir Babic (OM) 6-2, 6-0
4. #21 Jan Zielinski (UGA) def. Filip Kraljevic (OM) 7-5, 3-6, 1-0(8)            
5. Robert Loeb (UGA) def. Cotter Wilson (OM) 6-3, 6-3
6. Finn Reynolds (OM) def. Alex Diaz (UGA) 6-4 7-5
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1, 6, 5, 4
At the Net with Head Coach Toby Hansson
“Doubles was close again. We had some new pairings out there, and I thought they played pretty well. They were fired up. We did a pretty good job of competing on most courts in singles, and it was good to see the freshmen out there competing and making the most of their playing time. Tim played one of his better matches this year and picked up a good win against a quality player. We need to make some improvements and make sure that we are doing the right things at all times during the match to get ready for another battle Sunday.”
Next up…
The Rebels will welcome Tennessee Sunday at 1 p.m. The match is scheduled to be played at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, weather permitting.
For more information on Ole Miss Men’s Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter @OleMissMTennis, on Facebook at OleMissMTennis and on Instagram at OleMissMTennis, follow Coach Hansson on Twitter at @TennisToby.

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Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports