The University of Mississippi Athletics
Women's Tennis To Face Mississippi State Saturday In Starkville
4/7/2004 | Women's Tennis
April 7, 2004
OXFORD, Miss. - While the Ole Miss men's tennis team will be battling Mississippi State up here Saturday, the Lady Rebels will be in Starkville taking on the Lady Bulldogs at 1 p.m., at the A.J. Pitts Centre.
The Lady Rebels (10-10, 2-8) are looking to rebound after losing two matches last weekend to No. 33 South Carolina and No. 2 Florida. Junior All-American Chloe Carlotti, ranked No. 63 in the nation, leads the team with a 11-8 record at No. 1 singles. She and doubles partner Virginia Tomatis moved up to No. 27 in the latest national rankings and bring a 13-5 record into the contest.
Mississippi State comes into the match with a 6-12 overall record, 1-9 in the SEC. They are coming off a 7-0 loss to Florida and a 4-3 loss to South Carolina. State's lone conference win was a 4-3 victory at Arkansas. The Lady Bulldogs are led by Kugakolova, who owns an 8-6 record at No. 2 singles.
Ole Miss leads the all-time series with Mississippi State 40-5. The Lady Rebels have won 14 in a row over the Bulldogs, including last year's 6-1 win in Oxford. The last time Mississippi State defeated Ole Miss was back in 1989 when Andy Jackson (current men's head coach at Florida) coached the team the Bulldogs to a 7-2 win.
"We are looking forward to getting back on the winning side and closing out the regular season on a positive note as we get ready for the SEC Tournament," head coach Mark Beyers said. "When you play your arch-rival in any sport, you can throw out the records. They (MSU) will be trying to end a long losing streak to us, so we have to be ready."
The last time the two teams met in Starkville (2002), Ole Miss defeated the Lady Bulldogs, 6-0. Ole Miss has posted a 67-8 record against the SEC West since 1990.
