The University of Mississippi Athletics
No. 5 Lady Rebels Ready to Open NCAA Play
6/21/1999 | Women's Tennis
May 19, 1999
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - With an SEC Championship in the bag, the fifth-ranked Ole Miss women's tennis team begins its quest for a national championship Thursday at 8:00 a.m. against 21st-ranked Fresno State at the Scott Linder Tennis Stadium on the campus of the University of Florida.
The Lady Rebels, seeded No. 4 in the tournament, are in top form, having won 10 straight and 14 of their last 15 matches including capturing an NCAA Regional this past weekend. Ole Miss defeated Maryland and North Carolina to advance to the NCAA Final 16. It is their fourth Sweet Sixteen appearance in a row.
"We are playing our best tennis right now and are excited about being in the NCAA Championships," head coach Jerry Montgomery said. "We are looking forward to playing Fresno State. Their No. 1 player is very good. They defeated a solid William & Mary team to get here and we know they will be ready to play. My players are ready for the challenge."
Ole Miss is led by fourth-ranked Agnes Muzamel, who comes into the NCAAs needing only two wins to become the all-time career singles leader at Ole Miss. Ivona Mihailova has won 10 in a row and 11 of her last 12 matches.
Fresno State is making their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Final 16. They upset William & Mary in the regional final in Williamsburg to get here. The No. 1 singles match should be an exciting one, as the Bulldogs top player Dora Djillianova is ranked No. 6 in the nation. She owns a 40-8 overall record, 25-3 at No. 1 singles.
Ole Miss and Fresno State have never faced each other in team competition. Muzamel defeated Djillianova in straight sets two years ago in the NCAA Singles Championship and then she and Courtenay Chapman have played Djillianova and Liesi Fichtbauer at the All-American Championships before.
The Lady Rebels advanced to the quarterfinals at last year's NCAA Championships in Notre Dame, Ind., defeating Arizona State 5-2, before falling to eventual finalist Duke. The winner of Thursday's match will meet the winner of the Duke/Iowa match on Friday.
