.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Women's Tennis To Begin Defense Of SEC West Title
3/1/2006 | Women's Tennis
March 1, 2006
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss women's tennis team moved up to No. 32 in the nation this week as they get set to begin Southeastern Conference play this weekend against a pair of top 25 teams. On Friday, the Lady Rebels will host No. 4 Florida at 3 p.m. at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center before welcoming No. 24 South Carolina on Sunday.
Ole Miss, the 2005 SEC West Champion, comes into conference play undefeated (6-0), their best start since the 2002 season. In their last action, the Lady Rebels defeated Middle Tennessee 7-0 and No. 29 South Alabama, 6-1.
"We accomplished one of our goals of reaching conference play undefeated," head coach Mark Beyers said. "We are looking forward to beginning the SEC season at home. Obviously, starting out with two top teams will be a challenge. We want to encourage the fans to come out and support us and see some exciting tennis. The home crowd can make a difference in a close match."
Coming into SEC action, freshman Kseniia Tokarieva leads the Lady Rebels. Tokarieva is off to a 10-0 start in dual matches in singles and doubles. In all 14 of her singles wins this year, she has not dropped a set.
Florida comes into the start of conference play at 6-1. They are coming off a 4-3 loss at No. 10 North Carolina last Sunday. The Gators are led by a pair of seniors, All-American Alexis Gordon and Boglarka Berecz, and sophomore Diana Srebrovic. Gordon returned this season after sitting out the 2005 season for personal reasons. In her last season of competition (2004), Gordon posted a 26-6 overall record, and went 10-1 in the SEC. She is off to a 3-0 start in dual matches this season. Srebrovic is ranked No. 5 in the nation after a successful fall in which she went 17-2 and won the ITA National Indoor Championships.
Ole Miss will be vying for its third win in the series. They Lady Rebels defeated the Gators 5-4 in 1983 and then again in the finals of the 1999 SEC Tournament by the same score.
On Sunday, the Lady Rebels will host No. 24 South Carolina at 1 p.m. South Carolina comes into SEC play at 6-2. In their last action, the Gamecocks lost a 4-3 match to Harvard. The Gamecocks are led by freshman Gira Schofield who is ranked No. 46 in the nation with a 20-3 overall record, 7-1 at No. 1 singles.
Ole Miss leads the all time series with South Carolina 12-7. The Gamecocks however, have won five of the last six meetings, including five straight regular season contests. The Lady Rebels defeated the Gamecocks 4-3 in the first round of the 2004 SEC Tournament, but their last regular season win came in 2000 in Oxford, a 6-0 victory. South Carolina escaped with a 4-3 win in Columbia last year.
Admission to all home matches is free. The first 100 fans to both matches will receive a free Ole Miss tennis t-shirt compliments of University Sporting Goods.
