University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldog Breakthrough! Nolan and Patten Move Up to No. 1 Nationally
02.06.2019 | Men's Tennis
ITA Rankings 2/06
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The national championship-winning doubles pairing of Oli Nolan and Henry Patten have moved up to No. 1 nationally in the latest Oracle Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings that were released on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019.
The No. 1 ranking is the highest doubles ranking in Big South tennis history and it is the highest a Bulldog tennis duo has ever been ranked.
The pairing moved up from No. 2 to No. 1 nationally in the latest poll. Coming out of the fall, Nolan and Patten were ranked second in the poll that was released on Nov. 14, 2018.
The duo of Nolan of Patten are currently undefeated on the 2018-19 season. The duo is 2-0 this spring.
Nolan and Patten earned a 6-2 win over Ayers and Jakob Nielsen of George Mason at No. 1 doubles on Saturday, Feb. 2. Patten and Nolan garnered a 6-4 win over Ronny Georgi and Marques of East Carolina at No. 1 doubles on Sunday, Feb. 3.
Nolan and Patten secured a national championship on Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018, with a 6-2, 6-1 win over then nationally 42nd-ranked Bjorn Thomson and Parker Wynn of Texas Tech in the championship match of the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex.
In addition to the national championship win, Patten was also voted by the ITA Officials at the event to receive the Sportsmanship Award for the 2018 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships.
The championship match win for Nolan and Patten was part of a tremendous fall of 2018 for the pairing. Nolan and Patten went undefeated playing together during the fall and won three titles including the national championship.
To advance to the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships the Bulldog duo first captured the doubles title at the ITA Carolina Regional Championship on Tuesday, Oct. 16. The fifth-seeded Bulldog duo bested fourth-seeded Bo Boyden and Anu Kodali of North Carolina 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (8) in the doubles championship match of the ITA Carolina Regional Championship at Cary Tennis Park on Tuesday, Oct. 16.
Nolan and Patten also captured the title at the 51st Southern Intercollegiate Championships at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. on Sept. 10.
It was an impressive run to the national championship at the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships.
In the semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 10, the Bulldog doubles duo bested Aziz Kijametovic and Francois Musitelli of Old Dominion 6-1, 7-6 (5).
On Friday in the quarterfinals of the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, Nolan and Patten collected a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over the tournament fifth-seeded and nationally seventh-ranked pairing of Giovanni Oradini and Niclas Braun of Mississippi State.
The win over the tandem of Mississippi State came one day after the duo of Nolan and Patten bested the nationally 12th-ranked tandem of Alex Ribeiro and Henrik Korsgaard of Virginia Tech 7-5, 7-5 on Thursday.
The Bulldog duo opened the event by besting fourth-seeded and nationally 29th-ranked Martin Joyce and Hunter Tubert of Ohio State in the first round on Wednesday. Nolan and Patten picked up a 6-1, 3-6, 10-7 win over Ohio State's Joyce and Tuber.
Nolan and Patten and undefeated UNC Asheville men's tennis (4-0) next face Tusculum at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 6, before hosting Chattanooga on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, at 3 p.m. at the Asheville Racquet Club Downtown.
To learn more about UNC Asheville men's tennis, please visit uncabulldogs.com.
Players Mentioned
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