OXFORD, MISS. – The Furman men's tennis team dropped its opening two matches of the season Saturday afternoon to the Ole Miss Rebels in non-conference action from the William F. Galtney Indoor Tennis Center.

The Rebels started the doubleheader with a 4-0 win in the opener followed by another 4-0 victory in the finale. Furman drops to 0-2 to begin the year while Ole Miss improves to 4-0 overall.

The Paladins return to action tomorrow afternoon when they take on Alabama at 12 p.m. from the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Match 1 – Furman 0, Ole Miss 4
Ole Miss began the match by capturing both completed doubles matches, taking a 1-0 lead. Pietro Pampanin and Vlado Jankanj topped Alex Han and Finn Pollard at No. 3, 6-0, and Matthieu Chambonniere and Benjamin Martin clinched the point with their 6-3 win at No. 2 over Evan Duggal and Landon Ecarma.

In singles, the Rebels added three wins at No. 1, No. 4, and No. 5 to capture the 4-0 triumph. Playing at No. 5, Noah Schlagenhauf defeated Ecarma in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0. Isac Stromberg added a 6-1, 6-1 victory against Nicolas Dispas in the No. 4 contest. Chambonniere secured the match for Ole Miss when he defeated Nico Snyder at No. 1, 6-1, 6-2.

Playing in his first collegiate match, Barnabas Sift was leading his No. 6 contest versus Kai Milburn, 6-4, 3-4, when the Rebels clinched the contest.

Match 2 – Furman 0, Ole Miss 4
Ole Miss wrapped up the doubleheader with a 4-0 win in the finale.

The Rebels picked up the doubles point with a pair of 6-3 victories at No. 1 and No. 2. The 11^th-ranked tandem of Stromberg and Milburn defeated Ecarma and Duggal at No. 1, while Chambonniere and Martin, playing at No. 2, held off Snyder and Dispas.

Han and Pollard were leading their No. 3 match, 4-3, over Jankanj and Schlagenhauf when Ole Miss earned the point.

The Rebels added three consecutive straight set victories in singles to collect the 4-0 sweep. In the No. 4 match, Schlagenhauf won 6-0, 6-3, versus Dispas, and Jankanj topped Duggal at No. 3, 6-4, 6-1. Milburn won the match at No. 3 when he tallied a 6-3, 6-2 victory versus Ecarma.

Snyder was leading his No. 2 match against Martin, 6-2, 3-3, when the match was clinched by Ole Miss.

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