The University of Mississippi Athletics
Women's Tennis To Host Middle Tennessee State Friday
2/23/2011 | Women's Tennis
Feb. 23, 2011
OXFORD, Miss. - In their final tune-up before the start of Southeastern Conference play, the No. 24 ranked Ole Miss women's tennis team will host Middle Tennessee State Friday at 2 p.m. at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
The Rebels come into the match at 4-2 overall. In their first outdoor match of the season last Saturday, the Rebels shut out Troy 7-0 to improve to 18-3 at home dating back to the 2009 season.
"We've played them quite a few times. They're a solid team. They're well-coached and they compete hard," said head coach Mark Beyers of the Blue Raiders. "For them this is a great opportunity. Any time a smaller school plays an SEC team in the top 25, you're going to get their best, because it's a huge opportunity for them to make a name and make their season. We know they're going to come in here fired up, and we have to be ready for that. I was very encouraged by what I saw this past Saturday. I hope we can keep that momentum going and play a little better than that."
Switching from indoor tennis to outdoor tennis usually takes some adjustment because of the conditions and the pace of play, but the Rebels took advantage of last week's unusually warmer temperatures to get in some solid preparation for these matches.
"This has been our best transition since I've been here," said senior Gabby Rangel. The weather was so nice last week. There wasn't a lot of wind, so we got a lot of quality practices in.
Ole Miss is led by junior Kristi Boxx who dominated against Troy to improve to 14-7 overall and 3-2 at No. 1 singles. Freshman Vivian Vlaar has won nine in a row and is undefeated at No. 6 singles.
Middle Tennessee State enters the match at 4-2 with both their losses coming against nationally ranked teams including last weekend's 6-1 defeat at Vanderbilt. The Blue Raiders are led by sophomore Yuiri Nomoto who is 5-1 at No. 1 singles.
The Rebels lead the series 9-0 and won last year's contest 7-0.
"Kristi didn't play [in last year's match], everyone had to move up a spot and we still beat them 7-0. But it's a different year. They're going to be a little better than Troy was last week," Rangel said.
Admission to all home matches is free.
