SAN DIEGO, California – The Ole Miss men’s and women’s tennis teams will send three Rebels to San Diego from Nov. 2-6. Lillian GabrielsenJohn Hallquist Lithén and Simon Junk will bring their talents out West after qualifying for the 2022 ITA Fall National Championships.
Gabrielsen had a torrid run at the ITA Southern Regional Championships held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The senior rebel was the underdog in the competition as she was the last remaining unranked competitor to reach the semifinals of the singles tournament. Gabrielsen finished as runner-up in singles to qualify for the 32-man roster at the ITA Fall National Championships.
Finishing as the doubles runner-up at the ITA Southern Regional Championships two weeks ago, Lithén and Junk received automatic bids to the 32-team doubles field in San Diego. The Rebel pairing was one of 26 couples to earn automatic bids to the bracket, with spots awarded to the regional and ITA All-American champions and runner-up couples.
Gabrielsen will face North Carolina’s Carson Tanguilig. Tanguilig received preseason honors with a ranking of No. 28 in the country and will enter the ITA Fall National Championships as the No. 1 seed. 5.
Lithén and Junk’s first match will be against Pepperdine’s Daniel De Jonge and Tim Zeitvogel, who enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed. 7 in the doubles group.
Tournament schedule
Wednesday, November 2 – Round of 32 Singles/Doubles
Thursday, November 3 – Round of 16 Singles/Doubles
Friday, November 4 – Singles/Doubles Quarterfinals
Saturday, November 5 – Singles/Doubles Semi-Finals
Sunday, November 6 – Singles/Doubles Championship
THE REBELS
Lillian Gabrielsen (Sr.) – Oslo, Norway
– 2022 ITA Southern Regional Singles runner-up
– Defeated 2 ranked competitors in the ITA South Regional
– Earned an overall record of 14-10 in singles and 21-13 in doubles in the 2021-22 season
– Recorded a 2-1 singles record at the Sea Pines College Tournament
John Hallquist Lithén (Jr.) – Gothenburg, Sweden
– 2022 ITA Southern Regional Doubles Joint Runner-up Simon Junk
– Finished with a 3-1 singles record at the Commodore Invitational, picking up two straight singles victories
– Finished 2021-22 with a record of 18-16 in singles and 20-9 in doubles
– Earned a career double-double ranking of 24th overall at the conclusion of the fall 2021 season
– We saw a peak ITA singles ranking of #98 in Spring 2022
Simon Junk (Sr.) – Marpingen, Germany
– 2022 ITA Southern Regional Doubles Runner-up together with John Hallquist Lithén
– Finished with a 21-9 singles record and a 14-14 doubles record in the 2021-22 season
– Finished the 2021-22 doubles season by winning his last seven singles matches of the year
– Reached the singles and doubles quarterfinals at the 2021 ITA South Regional Championships
– Currently ranks 19th all-time in program history in career doubleheader wins with 54
GABRIELSEN UNDERDOG
Gabrielsen was the last remaining undefeated competitor to reach the ITA Southern Region singles semifinals. The senior defeated no. 94 Safiya Carrington of LSU and no. 54 Petra Sedlackova of Alabama to reach the championship and qualify for the ITA Fall National Championships.
GUIDE TO LITHEN AND JUNK HOT RREAK IN SAN DIEGO
The upperclassman duo of Lithén and Junk swept the ITA South Championship field earlier in the fall season, combining for five wins in the tournament’s doubles bracket to reach the regional finals after entering as the no. . 6. With the number of doubles wins, Junk catapulted himself into 19th all-time in program history in career doubles wins with 54.
NEW TOURNAMENT, ONE MISSION FOR GABRIELSEN
Although this is Gabrielsen’s first time qualifying for the ITA National Fall Championships, her mission remains the same. The Oslo, Norway native is prepared and ready for whatever comes her way in San Diego.
FIRST ZONE WEEKEND FOR THE MEN’S TENNIS TEAM
Lithén and Junk won’t be the only ones competing this week to close out the fall season for Ole Miss men’s tennis, as the rest of the Rebel squad travels to Atlanta, Georgia, for the Georgia Tech Invitational. The tournament will take place November 4-6 at the Yellow Jackets’ home turf at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
FOLLOW THE REBELS IN SOCIETY
For more information on Ole Miss Men’s Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMTennison Facebook at OleMissMTennis and on Instagram at OleMissMTennis, follow Coach Hansson on Twitter at @TennisToby.
For more information on Ole Miss Women’s Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWTennis, on Facebook at OleMissWTennis and on Instagram at @OleMissWTennis. Also follow Coach Beyers on Twitter, @MarkBeyers.
