The University of Mississippi Athletics
Women's Tennis To Host Ole Miss Fall Classic
9/21/2004 | Women's Tennis
Sept. 21, 2004
OXFORD, Miss. - The "new beginning" of Ole Miss women's tennis will kick off this weekend as the Lady Rebels host the Ole Miss Fall Classic Friday-Sunday at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
Teams joining Ole Miss in the classic include - Centenary, Georgia, Kansas State, Louisiana-Monroe Southern Mississippi and Tennessee Tech.
Some of the top players in the country participating in this weekend's tournament include Ole Miss' Ilona Somers, ranked No. 81 in singles and No. 51 in doubles and redshirt freshman Mimi Renaudin, ranked No. 51 in doubles. Georgia's Shadisha Robinson comes in ranked No. 23 in the nation, and teammate Natalie Frazier is ranked No. 61. Robinson is the lone returning All-American for the Bulldogs. She went 34-13 last year and had a final national singles ranking of No. 31. Maria Rosenberg of Kansas State is ranked No. 105 in singles. She was named to the All-Big 12 team in 2004 and finished with a 20-16 record.
The three-day tournament will feature three draws of singles and two draws of doubles. The Blue and Red draws will include 16 players and the White Draw will have eight. In doubles each draw will consist of eight teams.
"We had a successful tournament last year, and we expect this year to be no different," head coach Mark Beyers said. "We have some great players coming in, and we hope our fans take the opportunity to come out and see the newcomers that we have, because they are exciting to watch."
Somers, a sophomore from the Netherlands, transfered from the University of Tulsa, where she posted a 22-6 overall record, 19-4 in dual matches. She was one of the top rookies in the nation last year and finished the season ranked No. 113.
Renaudin, who joined the team in January of 2004, is already making waves this fall after redshirting last season. The Mandeville, La., native earned a spot in the qualifying tournament for the Gold Strike Challenger this week in Tunica, Miss. She won both her qualifying matches before falling in the first round to a player ranked in the top 300 in the world.
Freshman Nika Koukhartchouk of Kaliningrad, Russia, also had a good showing in the Wildcard Tournament in Tunica, Miss., advancing to the final, before losing to teammate Chloe Carlotti.
Also competing for the Lady Rebels will be freshmen Carlin Cochran of Dublin, Ga., and Sarah Sabin of Stewart, Fla., and sophomore Claire Conerly of Alexandria, La.
"We hope that nobody in Oxford misses the opportunity to see the new beginning of Ole Miss women's tennis," assistant coach Whitt Taber said. "We have a different and exciting team this year, and we hope Rebel fans come out and get acquainted with a team who is going to do great things in the future."
Play begins Friday and Saturday at 8 a.m. and runs all day. The finals will be played Sunday beginning at Noon. Should there be inclement weather, the matches will be moved to the Gillom Sports Center.
