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Rebel duo through to Elite Eight
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WTVA/Ole Miss Athletics) — For the second year in a row, Ole Miss will have a team in the final eight at the NCAA Doubles Championship, as the No. 3 seeded team of Nik Scholtz and Jonas Lutjen held off Arkansas’ top team in three sets in the round of 16 here Friday at the Atkins Tennis Center.
The Rebel duo broke Mike Nott and Manfred Jeske twice in the first set to win it 6-4. Jeske and Nott responded in the second set, taking an early break from Scholtz and Lutjen and eventually serving out the set 6-3 to force a third set for the match.
Scholtz and Lutjen broke the Arkansas duo to start the final set. Nott and Jeske got as close as 5-3, but the Rebel duo served it out 6-3 for the win to improve to 19-6 on the year.
“Nik and I played a good match against them, they are pretty good,” said Lutjen, the ITA Southern Region Senior of the Year. “We could have made it a little easier by converting the chances we had in the second set. But, we stayed focused and got off to a great start in the third set. We’re having a lot of fun out here, and we are excited to play another match together in the quarterfinals tomorrow. Our work here is not done yet.”
Scholtz echoed his partner. “We played well. Every service game of theirs was deuce, ad, deuce, ad. We just could not capitalize on our chances, making it harder for ourselves. In the third set we just played the key points better, the way we did in the first.”
Going for their 20th win of the year and a spot in the semifinals, Scholtz and Lutjen will face 10th-ranked Vikram Hundal and Juan Spir of Georgia Tech on Saturday.
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