The University of Mississippi Athletics
Women's Tennis Takes Aim At SEC Tournament
4/21/2010 | Women's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss women's tennis team heads to Athens, Ga., this weekend for the SEC Tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Rebels will face seventh seeded Arkansas Friday at 1 p.m. CT.
Arkansas downed Auburn 4-0 on Thursday in the first round.
Ole Miss finished the regular season 14-4 overall and 8-3 in the SEC, their best league record since 2000. It also marks their best finish in the conference since 1999, when they finished second and went on to win their first ever SEC Tournament title.
"It means that you're in the top four and you've had a successful regular season," said head coach Mark Beyers on earning the bye. Also, by this time of year, every team has little nicks and bruises and so if you can play one less match, that's always a good thing, especially at the SEC Tournament."
The Rebels lost to Arkansas 5-2 during the regular season in Fayetteville, and felt that was a match they should have won.
"With Arkansas having beaten us in the regular season, there's a little revenge factor there. The girls are excited about getting another opportunity against them, because we let one slip last time," Beyers said. "Once you get to the quarterfinals, everybody is good. There is no easy match."
A huge reason for the Rebels success this season has been the play of junior Connor Vogel, who owns a team-leading 28-6 overall record and finished 9-1 in the SEC. She says the team is looking forward to a potential re-match with the Razorbacks.
"We lost to Arkansas during the regular season. We would definitely like to have that loss back," she said. "We would love to advance to the finals and get another shot at Florida too."
Ole Miss came into the season with several goals, including winning the SEC West, which they did, capturing their first ever outright title. Another goal which the team hopes to make happen this weekend, is hosting an NCAA Regional. The Rebels are currently ranked No. 17 in the nation, and normally the top 16 teams are in position to host.
"The girls are excited to win the West and be the No. 2 seed, but in order to host we have to keep winning. They understand that mission," Beyers said. "Last year we made the semifinals, and hopefully this year we can take it a step further and advance to the finals with another shot at Florida. They're the one team that really beat us this year. I would like to see us against them again and see if we can do a little better this time. If we make it to the finals, then hopefully that will be good enough to host."
All matches during the tournament will feature live scoring. To follow the action go to www.OleMissSports.com and click on the link in the Rebel Hub.
