The University of Mississippi Athletics
Five Rebel Netters Earn All-SEC Honors
4/25/2012 | Women's Tennis
April 25, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Ole Miss women's tennis team finished in the top four in the Southeastern Conference this year, resulting in five players earning All-SEC honors as the league announced the postseason awards Wednesday.
Senior Kristi Boxx became the second player in the history of the program to earn All-SEC first team honors all four years. The Grenada, Miss., native finished 9-1 in the SEC in singles and 10-1 in doubles. She is currently ranked No. 10 in the nation in singles and No. 6 in doubles.
Boxx joins four-time All-American Paloma Collantes in that elite category. Collantes is the all-time winningest player in singles at Ole Miss. This season, Boxx became the all-time career wins leader in doubles and the second player to record 200 combined wins in singles and doubles.
"Kristi is one of the best players to ever put on an Ole Miss uniform," head coach Mark Beyers said. It's a great honor to be mentioned with someone who obviously had a great career here. It demonstrates the level of play from Kristi all fours years and the consistency she's showed all four years."
Sophomore Caroline-Rohde-Moe, freshman Erin Stephens and senior Abby Guthrie made the second team, while Stephens and Julia Jones made the All-Freshman team.
"If you look at this list, for us to have four on the All-SEC and two on the All-Freshman Team it shows what we have accomplished this season," Beyers said. "These girls are all very deserving of the honors. This is the best tennis conference in the country, so to be mentioned among all these players is a great achievement."
Rohde-Moe, a native of Bloomenholm, Norway, earned league honors for the first time in her career. Presently ranked No. 80 in the nation, Rohde-Moe played No. 2 singles the entire year except for one match at No. 1 singles.
Guthrie (Auckland, New Zealand) enjoyed her best season as a Rebel posting a combined 20-2 conference record in singles and doubles. She teamed with Boxx for a 10-1 record at No. 1 doubles and went 10-1 at No. 5 singles.
Stephens, of Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., played all her matches in the top half of the lineup and posted a 6-5 record in the SEC in both singles and in doubles with senior Gabby Rangel. She was twice named the SEC Freshman of the Week. Stephens becomes the seventh freshman in program history to earn All-SEC first or second team honors.
Jones (McComb, Miss.) went 8-3 in the SEC and was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Feb. 29.
All five have helped lead the Rebels to a current national ranking of No. 16 as well as an 8-3 SEC record and the semifinals of the SEC Tournament here this past weekend.
The Rebels will find out May 1 their destination for the NCAA Championships. They are hoping to host the first and second rounds.
Follow the Rebels on twitter at @OleMissWTennis and on facebook at www.facebook.com/OleMissWTennis.
A complete list of the awards follows:
Coach of the Year: Jenny Mainz, Alabama
Player of the Year: Lauren Embree, Florida
Freshman of the Year: Lauren Herring, Georgia
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Courtney McLane, Alabama
All-SEC First Team
Alexa Guarachi, Alabama
Mary Anne Macfarlane, Alabama
Lauren Embree, Florida
Joanna Mather, Florida
Sofie Oyen, Florida
Allie Will, Florida
Chelsey Gullickson, Georgia
Lauren Herring, Georgia
Maho Kowase, Georgia
Kristi Boxx, Ole Miss
Brynn Boren, Tennessee
Jackie Wu, Vanderbilt
All-SEC Second Team
Courtney McLane, Alabama
Alexandra Cercone, Florida
Caroline Hitimana, Florida
Kate Fuller, Georgia
Nadja Gilchrist, Georgia
Lilly Kimbell, Georgia
Abby Guthrie, Ole Miss
Caroline Rohde-Moe, Ole Miss
Erin Stephens, Ole Miss
Jaklin Alawi, South Carolina
Anya Morgina, South Carolina
Natalie Pluskota, Tennessee
Kata Szekely, Tennessee
Marie Casares, Vanderbilt
Lauren Mira, Vanderbilt
All-Freshman Team
Lauren Herring, Georgia
Marie Casares, Vanderbilt
Ashleigh Antal, Vanderbilt
Julia Jones, Ole Miss
Erin Stephens, Ole Miss
Stephanie Fox, Kentucky
Edmée Morin-Kougoucheff, Kentucky
