Ole Miss men’s tennis’ Nikola Slavic and John Hallquist Lithén both came away with Second Team All-SEC honors, the Southeastern Conference announced on Thursday.
Slavic and Lithén made up two of the 27 individuals honored with All-SEC designations in the conference’s annual yearly awards. This marks Slavic’s third consecutive year being named to an All-SEC team for his efforts, while Lithén has now earned his first All-SEC nod since being named to the 2021 SEC All-Freshman Team.
Slavic capped off his regular season by posting an 18-11 singles record and 14-7 doubles record this year, playing primarily in the No. 1 singles spot and on the No. 1 doubles team for the Rebels. The senior currently leads the team in ranked singles wins (6) and ranked doubles wins (3) on the year.
The Stockholm, Sweden, native sits ranked No. XX in the country in singles according to the ITA, as well as being a member of the No. XX doubles team in the nation alongside teammate Lukas Engelhardt. Slavic peaked at a singles ranking of No. 6 in the country earlier this fall, while also peaking at a No. 40 ranking in doubles.
Slavic has remained ranked in the Top 100 of the ITA’s Singles Rankings for over two years now, dating back to March 24, 2021. This is his third consecutive year being named to an All-SEC team, earning First Team (2022) and Second Team (2021) honors the past two years.
Lithén wrapped up his regular season with a singles record of 21-9 after playing a majority of his matches for the Rebels on Court 2. Not only did his 21 singles wins lead the Rebel squad, but they also marked a new single-season career high for the junior. Lithén is just the third Rebel in the last five seasons to cross the 20-win threshold in a single season.
The Gothenburg, Sweden, native has found his stride in 2022-23, at one point stringing together an eight-match singles win streak alongside serving as the clinching singles win for a total of six Ole Miss victories this spring.
Lithén earned a total of five ranked singles wins and three ranked doubles wins this year for the Rebels, both of which are career-highs for him in a single season. The junior also finished as an ITA Southern Regional Runner-Up in doubles last fall alongside Simon Junk, earning a spot in the ITA National Fall Championships Round of 32 for his efforts.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports
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