The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Georgia
Rebel Netters Take Down No. 13 Georgia 5-2
4/4/2010 | Women's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. -- The No. 35 nationally-ranked Ole Miss women's tennis team downed No. 13 Georgia 5-2 Sunday afternoon at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center for their second top 15 win of the weekend, after knocking off No. 14 Tennessee on Friday.
With the 2-0 weekend, the Rebels improved to 11-4 overall and 5-3 in the SEC, maintaining their lead in the Western Division. Georgia suffered their first conference loss (7-1) of the year and fell to 11-5 overall. It also marked Ole Miss' first win against Georgia since 1999.
"We are very proud of the girls. This was a great weekend," head coach Mark Beyers said. "Georgia is such a storied program that has won numerous championships. They have a lot of talent, and they're well-coached. To beat a team like that, you have to beat them. They're not going to beat themselves. To beat them the way we did is outstanding. The whole weekend was awesome. I don't know if I could have written it any better."
The swept the doubles rather easily, losing only eight games total in all three matches. After Ole Miss clinched the point at No. 2, the 13th-ranked duo of Kristi Boxx and Karen Nijssen ended 10th-ranked Chelsey Gullickson and Nadja Gilchrist's 17-match winning streak at No.1 and gave them their first loss at that position.
"That was probably the best doubles we've every played," Beyers said. "It set us up for singles. We got down a little early in singles, but we were able to turn it just like that. All of a sudden we were still able to win four sets. Georgia never really got anything going."
Georgia got on the board first in singles, as Gullickson, ranked No. 10, handed 57th-ranked Boxx a 6-3, 6-0 loss at No. 1. But that would be all they would get until the match was clinched.
Sophomore Gabby Rangel downed Georgia's Lara Fakhoury 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6, and Laura van de Stroet cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Cameron Ellis at No. 5 to make it 3-1 Rebels.
Junior Connor Vogel had a big weekend, going 4-0 in singles and doubles, including beat her old team (Tennessee) on Friday. Against Georgia's Yvette Hyndman, Vogel got down 0-2 early, but then won seven straight games on her way to a 6-2, 6-2 win to clinch the team victory.
"This was a very good win. We believe we are a very good team, even if our ranking doesn't show it yet," Vogel said. "Being able to take down the No. 13 and No. 14 teams in the country is huge. I've never experienced that. It makes the rest of the season so much more exciting. Hopefully we can carry this into next weekend and get a couple more wins."
Vogel is now 12-2 in dual matches and 7-1 in the SEC to lead the Rebels.
Nijssen finished off the scoring, coming back to beat 29th-ranked Gilchrist 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 2. She ended the weekend 3-1 in singles and doubles with three ranked wins.
The Rebels will travel to the state of Alabama next weekend to battle Auburn and Alabama.
#35 Ole Miss 5
#13 Georgia 2
DOUBLES
1. Boxx/Nijssen (OM) def. Gullickson/Gilchrist (UGA) 8-3
2. Vogel/Rangel (OM) def. Hyndman/Ellis (UGA) 8-3
3. Guthrie/van de Stroet (OM) def. Ueshima/Fakhoury (UGA) 8-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
SINGLES
1. Chelsey Gullickson (UGA) def. Kristi Boxx (OM) 6-3, 6-0
2. Karen Nijssen (OM) def. Nadja Gilchrist (UGA) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
3. Connor Vogel (OM) def. Yvette Hyndman (UGA) 6-2, 6-2
4. Naoko Ueshima (UGA) def. Abby Guthrie (OM) 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 (9)
5. Laura van de Stroet (OM) def. Cameron Ellis (UGA) 6-2, 6-2
6. Gabby Rangel (OM) def. Lara Fakhoury (UGA) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 1, 6, 5, 3, 2, 4
