The University of Mississippi Athletics
Women's Tennis To Host Ole Miss Fall Classic
9/12/2005 | Women's Tennis
Sept. 12, 2005
OXFORD, Miss. -
2005 Ole Miss Fall Classic
A year ago, the Ole Miss women's tennis team used the Ole Miss Fall Classic to showcase a new beginning for the program. The Lady Rebels went on to defeat Mississippi State for the 16th consecutive time in 2005 on route to winning their first ever SEC Western Division Championship and earning a trip to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2002.
This year, the Lady Rebels are hoping to continue their rise back to national prominence, beginning with this weekend's Ole Miss Fall Classic.
Teams coming to Oxford for the three-day tournament include SEC opponents Mississippi State and Arkansas, 2005 NCAA participant South Alabama, Jacksonville State, Louisiana-Monroe, Southern Mississippi, Tennessee Tech, Troy and Samford.
The tournament will include individual flights of singles and doubles. The tournament begins at 8 a.m. Friday with doubles, followed by singles competition. The tournament continues on Saturday with an 8 a.m. start and concludes Sunday, beginning at 8 a.m.
"We are excited to be hosting a tournament of this caliber to kick off our 2005-06 schedule," said assistant coach and tournament director Whitt Taber. "We have some of the best teams in the country coming. We are looking forward to beginning defense of our SEC Western Division Championship with the fall season. We want to encourage everyone in the area to come out and support the Lady Rebels and watch some of the best in college tennis."
Ole Miss will have a huge contingent competing, led by sophomore Nika Koukhartchouk, who began the fall ranked No. 59 in the nation in singles. Koukhartchouk had a successful debut for the Rebels in 2005, posting a 21-12 overall record, 8-3 in the SEC while playing in the top three of the lineup. In addition, Koukhartchouk reached the finals of last year's Ole Miss Fall Classic before falling to Shadisha Robinson of Georgia, who is ranked No. 6 in the nation.
Junior Ilona Somers begins her second season with the Lady Rebels ranked No. 100 in the country in singles and No. 29 in doubles. Somers posted a 20-11 overall record last year, playing mostly No. 2 singles for the Lady Rebels.
Senior Virginia Tomatis, a two-time All-SEC performer in doubles, is ready to begin her final campaign and looks to pick up where she left off last year. Tomatis has improved in singles each year of her career posting a 22-13 record in 2005. She is ranked No. 29 in doubles with Somers.
The Lady Rebels return five of the top six from last year's squad, including sophomore Preethi Subramanian, who posted a 13-6 record, 7-3 in the SEC in her debut last year.
Other members of the 2005 SEC West Champions competing this weekend include, sophomores Carlin Cochran and Sarah Sabin and junior Claire Conerly.
Two newcomers will make their debut this weekend. Merry Ellen Henry of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Ksenia Tokarieva of Kiev, Ukraine will showcase their talents to the Ole Miss faithful.
Admission to the tournament is free, and all matches will be played at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
