The University of Mississippi Athletics
Women's Tennis To Host SMU In Season Opener Friday
1/24/2002 | Women's Tennis
Jan. 24, 2002
OXFORD, Miss. - Mark Beyers will roam the courts in his first dual match as the head coach of the nationally-ranked Ole Miss women's tennis team Friday, when the Lady Rebels host SMU at 2 p.m. at the Gillom Sports Center. On Sunday, the Lady Rebels will face New Orleans at 1 p.m. at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
The Lady Rebels posted a 10-13 overall record in 2001, advanced to the NCAA Championships for the sixth consecutive year and ended the season ranked No. 31 in the nation.
This year, Ole Miss will be led by senior co-captains Alesya Ignatieva and Camilla Gould. Both have been a part of some highly-successful teams at Ole Miss during their four years and are looking to take the Lady Rebels back to the top of the SEC.
Joining Ignatieva and Gould will be Junior Mira Radu, who had an outstanding fall and is ranked No. 25 in the nation. Radu posted a 19-7 record in the fall and defeated nine nationally-ranked players, including five in the top 30.
A year ago, the team was young with five freshmen in the lineup. Now, those same players have a year of experience in collegiate tennis, not to mention the always tough SEC, and should be ready to step up their games for the Lady Rebels. Sophomores Karem Harboe, Florencia Basile, Sabrina Peppl and Audra Adams have all made significant improvements as evidenced by their results in the fall.
Friday's match will also be the season-opener for SMU, who finished 13-9 last year. The Mustangs' top player from a year ago, Dee Dee Herring, graduated. The match will feature two new head coaches, as Stephen Moore took over as the Mustangs new coach this year.
