The University of Mississippi Athletics
Jones Topples No. 6 Ranked Player
10/24/2014 | Women's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. - Senior Julia Jones highlighted the Ole Miss women's tennis team on day one of the Ole Miss Invitational, earning a straight-set win against the nation's No. 6 ranked player from Georgia, here Friday at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
All total, the Rebels won two of the three doubles matches played against Texas Tech and four of seven singles matches versus Georgia, who ended the 2014 season ranked No. 4 in the nation.
"Great win for Julia obviously, beating one of the best players in the country in Lauren Herring," head coach Mark Beyers said. "As I look up and down, I am very pleased with everybody on the team. Georgia is one of the best teams in the country, so any win you get against them, you are going to have to earn. Their players were some of the best juniors in the country and the world. They are a great program, so for us to win four out of seven matches you have to play some great tennis. Looking at the results, it's impressive."
Jones, ranked No. 72 and coming off a title at the USTA/ITA Southern Regional Championships, led the way. She fell behind 5-1 against sixth-ranked Lauren Herring, but battled back to tie it at 5-5. Herring broke and served for the first set again, but Jones broke back and took the tiebreaker 7-6(5) to gain the early momentum. With Jones up 2-0 in the second set, Herring retired.
"When I was down 5-1, I thought I have nothing to lose at this point, she's ranked No. 6 in the country," Jones said. "I told myself to stop playing tight and take it one point at a time, like I've been doing the whole season, and it worked. She started hitting balls a little higher, because she knew that I don't like that. It forced me to stay in the point a little longer, but I just tried to stay patient and keep doing what I do."
Jones, who had not played a competitive match since the NCAA Team Championships in May and did start practicing until three weeks before regionals, is off to a 7-0 start including four wins against players ranked ahead of her.
"It's my senior year, and I just want to give it everything I have and stay positive," Jones said. "Being injured made me want it more. I know I don't have much time left in college tennis, so I just want to make the most of each match."
"To beat Lauren Herring, you have to put forth your best effort and then some," Beyers said. "Great individual effort by Julia. That's what college tennis is about. You're not going to win easily against these players. There will be ups and downs and stretches during the match where you will face some adversity. How you handle that adversity will determine how good of a player you're going to become. It's all about consistency, doing things the right way every day and shrinking the difference between a bad day and a good day."
Freshman Arianne Hartono, who has been impressive so far in her first season, downed Caroline Brinson 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2. Mai El Kamash defeated Marianna Gould 6-4, 6-4 at No. 3 and then senior Erin Stephens beat Laura Patterson 6-0, 7-5 at No. 6.
In the doubles, 51st-ranked Erin Stephens and Iris Verboven defeated Tech's Lynn Kiro and Sarah Dvorak 8-5 at No. 1. At No. 3, sophomore Zalina Khairudinova and freshman Natalie Suk teamed up for an 8-1 win versus Samantha Czarniak and Katelyn Jackson.
Ole Miss will continue play Saturday with singles against Texas Tech at 9 a.m., followed by doubles against Vanderbilt at 11:30 a.m.
For more information on Ole Miss Women's Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter, @OleMissWTennis and on Facebook at OleMissWTennis.
OLE MISS INVITATIONAL - OXFORD, Miss.
Doubles vs. Texas Tech
1. Stephens-Verboven (OM) def. Kiro-Dvorak (TT) 8-5
2. Federici-Boscher (TT) def. El Kamash-Hartono (OM) 8-6
3. Suk-Khairudinova (OM) def. Czarniak-Jackson (TT) 8-1
Herring-H. King (UGA) def. Jones-Milutinovic (OM) 8-6
Singles vs. Georgia
1. [72] Julia Jones (OM) def. [6] Lauren Herring (UGA) 7-6(5), 2-0, ret.
2. Arianne Hartono (OM) def. Caroline Brinson (UGA) 6-2, 6-3
3. Mai El Kamash (OM) def. Marianna Gould (UGA) 6-4, 6-4
4. Hannah King (UGA) def. Natalie Suk (OM) 4-1, ret.
5. Ellen Perez (UGA) def. Iris Verboven (OM) 7-5, 6-3
6. Erin Stephens (OM) def. Laura Patterson (UGA) 6-4, 6-0
7. Mia King (UGA) def. Zalina Khairudinova (OM) 6-0, 7-5
Players Mentioned
