The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Troy
Rebel Netters Shut Out Troy 7-0
2/19/2011 | Women's Tennis
Feb. 19, 2011
OXFORD, Miss. -- In their first outdoor match of the season, the No. 22 nationally ranked Ole Miss women's tennis team shut out Troy 7-0 at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center Saturday. With the win, the Rebels improved to 4-2 on the year, while Troy dropped to 2-5.
Coming into the match, Ole Miss had lost four straight doubles points. After concentrating heavily on doubles this week in practice, the Rebels looked solid with convincing wins at all three spots to earn the first point of the match.
"We've obviously been struggling with doubles, so we worked hard on that this week. We showed some improvement there, and hopefully we'll continue that," head coach Mark Beyers said.
Freshman Vivian Vlaar kept her winning streak alive and remained undefeated (6-0) with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Troy's Olivia Battye at No. 6 singles. The Rebs' other freshman, Caroline Rohde-Moe, downed Leonie Guijt 6-2, 6-1 on court three to make it 3-0, and then junior Abby Guthrie clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 4 against Lyubov Dorofeeva.
"We had a really good week of practice outdoors, and things started to come together in the match," Guthrie said. "We just need to keep working and get better every day. It was exciting for me to play well, because I have been struggling this year. I practiced hard this week, and it's starting to pay off a little bit."
Junior All-American Kristi Boxx put up a bagel against her opponent in the first set at No. 1 and was headed that way in the second, before taking a 6-0, 6-3 win. Afterwards, she talked about the team's first outdoor match.
"We played well as a team. The week of practice outside really helped us, because it's a lot different than playing indoors. It's slower and you have to work the points more," Boxx said. "Individually, I played really well for the first set and a half, and then I kind of lost my focus."
Seniors Connor Vogel and Laura van de Stroet completed the sweep with straight set wins at Nos. 2 and 5 singles.
"Looking beyond the scores, I thought the level of play was pretty good," Beyers said. "We were very fortunate to get a whole week of outdoor practice and then play this match outdoors. It's always a tough switch to go from indoors to outdoors. But, having good weather all week made it an easier transition. We always have things to work on [especially this early in the season], but I am pleased with where we are at this point."
The Rebels will host Middle Tennessee State Friday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center before hitting the road to begin Southeastern Conference play.
DOUBLES
1. Boxx/Guthrie (OM) def. Grymel/Guijt (TROY) 8-3
2. Vogel/Rangel (OM) def. Dhaoui/Ramirez-Vegas (TROY) 8-1
3. Rohde-Moe/van de Stroet (OM) def. Dorofeeva/Battye (TROY) 8-2
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
SINGLES
1. Kristi Boxx (OM) def. Karoline Grymel (TROY) 6-0, 6-3
2. Connor Vogel (OM) def. Olfa Dhaoui (TROY) 6-2, 6-2
3. Caroline Rohde-Moe (OM) def. Leonie Guijt (TROY) 6-2, 6-1
4. Abby Guthrie (OM) def. Lyubov Dorofeeva (TROY) 6-1, 6-0
5. Laura van de Stroet (OM) def. Rosaura Ramirez-Vegas (TROY) 6-1, 7-6(4)
6. Vivian Vlaar (OM) def. Olivia Battye (TROY) 6-1, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 4, 1, 2, 5
