Freshman Leads Lady Rebels At Bulldog Invitational

ATHENS, Ga. Ole Miss women’s tennis Freshman Kristi Boxx went 5-1 on the weekend to lead the Lady Rebels at the Bulldog Invitational, which kicked off the 2008-09 year for the team.  Her teammate, sophomore Karen Nijssen, also led the team, posting a 4-2 record in round-robin play.

Boxx, a native of Grenada, Miss., concluded the final day of play with two more wins.  She teamed up with Nijssen to post an 8-5 win over Lindsey Stuckey and Myriam Sopel of Indiana.  Later on she beat Amanda Granson of Duke, 7-6(5), 6-3 in singles.  On the first day of play, Boxx and Nijssen knocked off the 37th-ranked Duke tandem of Ellah Nze and Reka Zsilinszka 9-7.  Boxx finished 3-0 in singles and 2-1 in doubles.”

Speaking on her first tournament, Boxx said, “I think it went really well.  It was very exciting to play my first college matches.  I can’t wait for the next one." 

She also talked about playing with Nijssen in doubles, adding, “We played Wake Forest the first match, and we didn’t play that well.  We made some corrections, played a lot better the second match and beat a good team.”

Nijssen, ranked No. 73 in the nation in singles, lost her final singles match of the weekend on Sunday, to Duke’s 17^th-ranked Reka Zsilinszka, 6-2, 6-2. On the first day, she registered a 6-4, 6-2 win over 106^th-ranked Amanda Rales of Virginia

“This was my first tournament of the fall, and it was fun,” Nijssen said.  “We basically have a whole new team.  It was a strong tournament, and everyone did well.  We played some good matches.” 

On playing with Boxx, Nijssen, an NCAA doubles qualifier last year, added, “She goes to the net in doubles, which I also like to do.  She hits with a lot of power.  We are a good doubles team, and I think we can have a good season.”

Sophomore Laura van de Stroet and senior Mimi Renaudin went 2-1 on the weekend in doubles, including upsetting the nation’s No.3 ranked team, Duke’s Amanda Granson and Melissa Mang, 8-6 on the first day.

“This was a good weekend for us,” head coach Mark Beyers said.  “We picked up some ranked wins.  We held our own against Top 25 competition.  It was a great first tournament.  For Karen and Kristi to do really well against this type of competition, is impressive.   This was a great start to the season for them.  They can definitely take a lot from this tournament and hopefully this can carry over to the next tournament and the rest of the fall.”

The Lady Rebels return to action Sept. 27 at the ITA All-American Championships.

BULLDOG INVITATIONAL ATHENS, Ga.

DOUBLES

Karen Nijssen/Kristi Boxx (OM) def. Lindsey Stuckey/Myriam Sopel (IU) 8-5; Katya Zapadalova/Sigrid Fischer (IU) def. Renaudin/van de Stroet (OM) 8-6.

SINGLES

Boxx (OM) def. Amanda Granson (DUKE) 7-6(5), 6-3; Reka Zsilinszka (DUKE) def. Nijssen (OM) 6-2, 6-2; Melissa Mang (DUKE) def. Laura van de Stroet (OM) 6-4, 6-1; Tara Iyer (DUKE) def. Mimi Renaudin (OM) 6-0, 6-0.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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