HottyToddy.com’s Daily Ole Miss Sports Roundup

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Today’s roundup features Ole Miss Sports.

Ole Miss Alum Wins First Pro Singles Title

Photo courtesy of Kevin Bain

When he visited Oxford a few weeks ago, Ole Miss men’s tennis alum Jonas Lutjen talked about overcoming injuries to get back on the court. Sunday, all the hard work and dedication paid off as he won his first career ITF Futures singles title, the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships.

Lutjen defeated Latvia Davis Cup member Martins Podzus in the singles final at The Boulevard Village and Tennis Club. The two battled back and forth in the first set to a tiebreaker, which Lutjen won 7-6(4) to strike first. He carried that momentum over to gain an early break in the second and held for 6-3 and his first singles title since turning pro after graduating from Ole Miss in 2013.

“It’s an amazing feeling to finally get rewarded for the hard work it took to get through all the injuries and to get back in the right shape to compete for titles,” Lutjen said.

It was also the second time he beat Podzus, who has won three Futures events around the world this year.

“I remember that match, but it was six years ago…a lot has changed since then,” Lutjen said. “Last time we played was at a first round qualifying event somewhere in Germany. Playing the final against him on a bigger stage, is a lot more fun.”

After a short break, Lutjen was back on the court for the doubles championship with his partner, Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic. The two raced through the first set 6-1, but a late break allowed their opponents from the United States to take the second set 7-5. Lutjen and Kecmanovic won the deciding set 10-8 to take the title. It marked Lutjen’s third professional doubles title.

Lutjen’s transition from an All-American Rebel to the pros has not been without trial and tribulation. Multiple surgeries − first on his knee and then his groin − sidelined Lutjen for most of 2014 and 2015.

Finally healthy again, Lutjen reached the singles final earlier this year in Israel before coming over to the United States to visit Ole Miss and play in the Memphis, Little Rock and Vero Beach Futures.

While busy preparing the Rebels for postseason play, head coach Toby Hansson kept an eye on Lutjen’s results.

“We are all very happy for Jonas winning both the singles and doubles title this week,” Hansson said.  “It is nice to see that all the work he has put in to his tennis is starting to pay off.”

Lutjen will play the event in Tampa next week and then come back to Oxford for a few days before heading back home to Germany.

For more information on Ole Miss Men’s Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter @OleMissMTennis, on Facebook at OleMissMTennis and on Instagram at OleMissMTennis, follow Coach Hansson on Twitter at @TennisToby.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

Rebels Snap Drought to No. 14 Georgia, Split DH

Photo courtesy of Joshua McCoy / Ole Miss Athletics

Ole Miss Softball snapped a drought earning the program’s first win over Georgia since 2003, splitting Sunday’s doubleheader at Jack Turner Stadium with a 1-0 win and 10-3 loss.

The weather finally cooperated enough allowing the SEC series to be completed, as the two teams picked up from Saturday’s suspended game two before playing the finale right after.

Ole Miss’ win in the first contest on Sunday is the first for the Rebels over Georgia since April 13, 2003, and the first win in Athens since April 21, 2002. The victory was just the fifth overall for the program in Athens, snapping a 32-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.

The victory also put the Rebels at double-digit road wins with 10 on the year, becoming the first team in school history to reach the 10-win mark in road matchups.

Senior Madi Osias pitched her second-straight complete-game shutout in the first game of the day, while the Rebels’ early lead through three and a half wasn’t enough as No. 14 Georgia battled back for the rubber match.

See below for full recaps on both of Sunday’s games.

Game One – Ole Miss 1, No. 14 Georgia 0
Osias was dominant in her 22nd start of her senior campaign, picking up her 19th victory in the circle. She shut down the nation’s second-best offense, working eight strikeouts, her fourth time this season with eight or more.

The senior recorded at least one strikeout to six of the nine hitters in the Georgia lineup, and worked her way out of four jams with a punch out, including the last frame where she retired the Bulldogs’ slugger Alex Hugo to preserve the win.

It was Osias’ seventh complete game of the year and her third solo shutout as she and the Rebel defense handed the high-powered Georgia offense its first shutout of 2016.

Both sides tallied five hits, but it was the Rebels’ fourth that made the difference in the runs column. After Miranda Strother led off with a single and then got caught stealing at third, Courtney Syrett walked and Sarah Van Schaik singled through the left side. Kylan Becker then delivered the only RBI of the contest off a double into shallow right center that plated Syrett, putting the Rebels on top 1-0 in a score that would hold for the duration.

The freshman finished 2-for-3 at the plate with the game winner, as Strother, Ashton Lampton and Van Schaik all added one hit each.

Game Two – No. 14 Georgia 10, Ole Miss 3
Ole Miss went up on the Bulldogs early, 2-0, in the second, and scored their final run in the fourth. Syrett led the way in the second drawing a walk, before Paige McKinney pinch ran for her and moved to second on a wild pitch. From there, Van Schaik put down a sacrifice bunt, before Becker’s RBI single to left gave the Rebels a 1-0 advantage.

Alex Schneider kept it alive with a single to right, before Grayce Majam grounded into a fielders choice getting Becker out at third. But, Cox came through with a single into the outfield, driving in Schneider pushing the lead to 2-0.

Van Schaik led off the fourth again with a walk, and was pinch ran for by Haley Culley, who advanced on a sacrifice bunt. After Majam was hit by a pitch, Cox delivered her second RBI on a single to center putting Ole Miss in front 3-0.

Up to that point, Kayla Landwehrmier was effective escaping a couple jams and providing a strong effort. But, in the fourth, Georgia’s offense broke through with eight runs off eight hits to take the lead that would stand. From there, they went on to add two more in the sixth to claim the finale.

Cox and Becker both tacked on two hits for the Rebels to lead the seven-hit effort. The duo finished with all three RBI, while Lunderman, Lampton and Schneider added a hit each.

Landwehrmier was tagged with the loss after four runs allowed off six hits in 3.1 innings. Elisha Jahnke completed a third of a frame with four runs off four hits, while Krista Jacobs worked the final 2.1 with two runs off three hits.

On Deck
The Rebels return to the diamond Wednesday with their final midweek game at Louisiana Tech set for a 5 p.m. first pitch in Ruston.

For all Ole Miss Softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball and on Instagram at Instagram.com/olemisssoftball. Fans can also follow head coach Mike Smith on Twitter at @msmithsb16. Additionally fans can get a behind the scenes look at Ole Miss Athletics on Snapchat under the handle, @WeAreOleMiss.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

Another Record Falls for Ole Miss at Payton Jordan Invitational

HottyToddy.com photo

Another school record and some of the best distance times in school history and the NCAA this year highlighted the Ole Miss Rebels’ trip to Stanford for the Payton Jordan Invitational on Sunday.

Combined with the performance of the majority of the No. 20 Ole Miss men and No. 24 Ole Miss women’s squads at Saturday’s Memphis Invitational, the Rebels broke three school records and set 18 personal bests in the final weekend of the regular season. Up next will be the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships, May 12-14 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Just as she did during the indoor season, sophomore Emily Bean shattered her personal best and broke the outdoor school record in the 5,000 meters with a run of 16:30.33. That was 33 seconds better than her previous best for the Louisville, Kentucky, native. She broke Kayleigh Skinner’s record of 16:39.63 that had stood since 2013.

Senior Bo Ummels also clocked a personal best in the 5,000 with her time of 16:49.91 that ranks her sixth in school history.

Senior Ryan Walling nearly equaled Bean’s feat on the men’s side, running a huge personal best of 13:49.44 in the 5,000 that ranks him No. 2 in school history, just three seconds off Barnabas Kirui’s school record of 13:46.26 set at the 2008 SEC Championships. Walling should rank top 20-25 in the NCAA after all of the weekend results. His previous best in the 5,000 was 14:07.90 last year as a North Carolina Tar Heel.

Junior Robert Domanic ran a personal-best 13:54.64 that ranks him fourth in school history, while fellow junior Sean Tobinalso went under his personal best with a time of 14:13.97 that ranks him 10th in school history.

Both Walling and Domanic should be in line for qualifying to the NCAA East Regional in the 5,000 meters.

Sophomore Craig Engels continues to run fast times in the middle distances, this time racing to a season-best time of 1:47.06 in the 800 meters. He finished with the second-best time out of 47 total 800-meter men at Stanford this weekend.

Engels now ranks No. 3 in the country in the 1500 meters (school-record 3:38.82) and top 20 in the 800.

For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissTrack, as well as Facebook and Instagram.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

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