Friday, May 10
Oxford, Miss.
4:00:00 PM
Lehigh University
0
at
4
Mississippi
Lehigh's memorable season ends with loss to No. 6 Ole Miss at NCAAs
5/11/2013 2:01:00 AM | Men's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. - The Lehigh men's tennis team saw a memorable spring season come to an end Friday as the Patriot League champions fell 4-0 to No.6 seed Mississippi in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center. The Mountain Hawks battled hard in their first NCAA appearance but the seventh-ranked Rebels proved too strong.
Ole Miss (16-8) moves on to Saturday's second round where the Rebels will face Memphis, which defeated BYU 4-0 in Friday's first match. Lehigh finishes its season at 18-6, a campaign that saw the Mountain Hawks set a school record for victories en route to their first Patriot League Championship and NCAA appearance.
“We played the best tennis of our lives today but Ole Miss is a great team,” said Lehigh head coach Wouter Hendrix. “It was a great experience for our team and the end to a great season.”
Among the highlights for Lehigh on Friday were the performance of Lehigh's top doubles team, as junior Mark Goldberg and sophomore Mitchell Petersen played tough against the nation's No. 3 doubles team of Nik Scholtz and Jonas Lutjen. The Lehigh duo held a 5-4 lead before the Rebels top team came back to take a 7-5 lead. Ole Miss clinched the doubles point before the match at No. 1 doubles could be completed.
Senior Andrew Krentz also shined on Friday, as Lehigh's co-captain won his first set against Johan Backstrom 6-4 at No. 5 singles. When the match ended, Krentz was up a set and tied 1-1 in the second set.“He played the best tennis of his life,” Hendrix said of Krentz. “To go out like that, for him, that really meant a lot. He didn't get to finish but the way he was playing he would have won that match. That was a fitting end to a great career. He and Savran were two guys who really made the best out of their abilities. They came in as lower ranked players and really established themselves as four-year starters.”
In doubles play, Mississippi's No. 2 team of 49th-ranked Stefan Lindmark and Johan Backstrom won 8-2 over senior Matt Savran and Jeremy Kochman and the Rebels clinched the doubles point with a win at No. 3 as William Kallberg and Adrian Skogeng won 8-4 over Krentz and sophomore Ben Gilman.
Ole Miss extended its lead to 2-0 as Lindmark won 6-1, 6-0 over Savran at No. 4 singles. The Rebels were within a point of winning three additional matches when late afternoon rains forced play inside. Lutjen, the nation's 20th ranked singles player finished off Gilman 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 singles to give Ole Miss a 3-0 lead, while No. 95 Kallberg clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Petersen at No. 3 singles.
The Rebels were up a set at No. 1 and No. 6 singles, with Skogeng close to finishing his match against junior Timur Chernykh.
Lehigh loses its two senior captains, Krentz and Savran, to graduation, but the Mountain Hawks return three All-Patriot League selections for the 2014 season.
No. 6 Mississippi 4, Lehigh 0
Doubles
1. #3 Nik Scholtz/Jonas Lutjen (Miss.) vs. Mark Goldberg/Mitchell Petersen (LU) 7-5, DNF
2. #49 Stefan Lindmark/Johan Backstrom (Miss.) def. Matt Savran/Jeremy Kochman (LU) 8-2
3. William Kallberg/Adrian Skogeng (Miss.) def. Andrew Krentz/Ben Gilman (LU) 8-4
Order of finish: 2, 3
Singles
1. #14 Nik Scholtz (Miss.) vs. Mark Goldberg (LU) 6-2, 1-0, DNF
2. #20 Jonas Lutjen (Miss.) def. Ben Gilman (LU) 6-0, 6-1
3. #95 William Kallberg (Miss.) def. Mitchell Petersen (LU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Stefan Lindmark (Miss.) def. Matt Savran (LU) 6-1, 6-0
5. Andrew Krentz (LU) vs. Johan Backstrom (Miss.) 6-4, 1-1, DNF
6. Adrian Skogeng (Miss.) vs. Timur Chernykh (LU) 6-3, 5-0, DNF
Order of finish: 4, 2, 3
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