The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
ITA Regional Championships
Nijssen/Boxx Capture ITA Southern Regional Title
10/26/2009 | Women's Tennis
AUBURN, Ala. - The No. 9 nationally ranked Ole Miss duo of Kristi Boxx and Karen Nijssen captured the ITA Southern Regional doubles title here Monday, defeating the Alabama pair of Courtney McLane and Alexa Guarachi 8-6 in the final.
With the win, Boxx and Nijssen earned a berth in the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, the year's second national championship event, which will be held Nov. 5-8 in New Haven, Conn.
Boxx and Nijssen became the first Rebels to capture an ITA South Regional title since 1997 when Ole Miss won the singles and doubles titles.
In the singles final, Boxx, ranked No. 25 in the nation, lost in three sets to Auburn's Fani Chifchieva, ranked No. 10. Boxx won the first set 6-4, but Chifchieva came back to take the second and third sets by the same score of 6-1.
"Overall, it was a great tournament for us," head coach Mark Beyers said. "We dominated for the most part, which is exciting to see in a tournament of this magnitude. It's a shame we couldn't finish with a win in singles, but to have three doubles teams and four players in the singles quarterfinals, two in the singles semifinals a win in doubles and a runner-up in singles is outstanding. We are very impressed with the way we competed.
"We are excited for Kristi and Karen that they get to showcase themselves and the University of Mississippi and represent the South region at the National Indoors. Only the top 16 (doubles) teams in the country will be there. We look forward to having them compete just as well over there as they did in this tournament."
Several Rebels continued their solid play this fall, with Abigail Guthrie and Connor Vogel joining Boxx and Nijssen in the singles quarterfinals. Guthrie improved to 10-1 on the year, while Vogel is now 10-3. Guthrie teamed up with Soledad Podlipnik to reach the doubles semis before losing to Boxx and Nijssen, while Vogel paired with Gabriela Rangel to also make the semifinals.
"A lot of other people are having a great fall, including Abby and Connor," Beyers added. "Hopefully we can continue that next weekend at Baylor's tournament."
The Rebels will return to the courts Oct. 30-Nov. 1 at the Baylor HEB Invitational.
ITA SOUTHERN REGIONAL - AUBURN, Ala.
DOUBLES FINAL
Boxx/Nijssen (OM) def. Courtney McLane/Alexa Guarachi (UA) 8-6
SINGLES FINAL
Fani Chifchieva (AU) def. Kristi Boxx (OM) 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.
