May 2, 2012

OXFORD, Miss. – Nik Scholtz, Marcel Thiemann, Jonas Lutjen and Chris Thiemann, of the Ole Miss men’s tennis team, will be participating in the NCAA individual championships, as the selections for the singles and doubles were announced Wednesday.

Scholtz, the SEC Freshman of the Year, earned a 9-16 seed in singles.  The South African is currently ranked No. 13 nationally with a 17-7 overall record.    Scholtz went 7-4 in the SEC at No. 1 singles and is the second highest ranked freshman in the nation.

Marcel Thiemann earned his third consecutive singles bid.  The Lehrte, Germany native has reached the NCAA quarterfinals two years in a row.  Thiemann is ranked No. 20 in the country with a 20-6 overall record.  He posted a 10-1 record in the SEC at No. 2 singles to earn All-SEC first team honors for the third year.

Lutjen, a junior, earned his first NCAA bid.  The Schessel, Germany native is presently ranked No. 45 with a 21-11 overall record.   He earned All-SEC second team honors.

The Rebels will have two teams in the 32-team doubles field.  The Thiemann’s, ranked No. 17 nationally, earned their third straight selection and own a 14-6 overall record.  Scholtz and Lutjen, ranked No. 13, boast a 16-5 overall record and went 9-2 in the SEC.

The last time the Rebels had two teams in the NCAA Doubles Championship (2008), former All-Americans Erling Tveit and Jonas Berg reached the final, and Bram ten Berge and Matthias Wellermann came very close to making it an all Ole Miss final.

The 64-player singles draw and the 32-team doubles draw will be played at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. May 23-28, immediately following the NCAA Team Championship (May 17-22).

The Rebels are seeded No. 13 in the NCAA Team Championship, and will host the first and second rounds May 12-13 at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.  They will face Binghamton in the first round Saturday, May 12 at Noon.

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