The University of Mississippi Athletics
No. 24 Ole Miss to Host Tulane, William & Mary
2/11/2015 | Women's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. - A cold front is approaching Oxford, but the heat will be on inside the Gillom Sports Center this weekend, where the No. 24 Ole Miss women's tennis team returns for a pair of matches, beginning with Tulane on Friday at 2 p.m.
Following Friday's match, the Rebels will welcome William & Mary Sunday at Noon.
"We are excited to be playing at home this weekend," head coach Mark Beyers said. "We had two great wins last weekend but can't afford to have a letdown. Both Tulane and William & Mary are very good, well-coached teams. Hopefully we'll be able to get a great crowd at the Gillom Center, which always helps our players."
Promotions ...
Fans will enjoy free pizza during the match on Friday and each fan will receive a Julia Jones poster. During the match on Sunday, one lucky fan will get the chance to win two free tickets to next Wednesday's baseball game against Arkansas State.
Recapping Texas Road Trip ...
The Rebels (6-1) came away from their road trip to Lubbock, Texas last weekend with two wins, defeating No. 29 Texas Tech 4-2 and No. 32 Rice 5-2. It marked the first win in Lubbock for the Rebels, who improved to 4-1 all-time against the Lady Raiders. Mai El Kamash knocked off 35th-ranked Lynn Kiro for her 15th win of the year, and Erin Stephens clinched the Rebel victory after beating Tech's Katelyn Jackson at No. 6 singles. The Rebels wrapped up an impressive weekend with the win over Rice. Freshman, Natalie Suk, finished 2-0 on the day and defeated Rice's Alison Ho at No. 3 singles to clinch the Rebel victory. Senior Julia Jones earned her 10th ranked win of the year, as she defeated 24th-ranked Natalie Beazant to improve to 17-3 overall, 7-0 at No. 1 singles.
Scouting Tulane ...
Tulane is (7-0) is off to their best start under head coach Terri Sisk. Tulane is led by junior Ipek Birol, who sports an unblemished record in both dual singles (5-0) and doubles play (6-0). Birol, along with doubles partner Katz, has not allowed more than three games to be scored against them yet this spring. This will be the first ranked opponent for the Green Wave to face this season.
Scouting William and Mary ...
William and Mary is coming off of two wins against Wake Forest and Maryland to improve to 5-1 on the season, their best start since 2007. The Green and Gold are led by Junior Leeza Nemchinov, who owns a 13-2 overall record, 5-0 at No. 1 singles.
National Rankings ...
Ole Miss remained at No. 24 in the latest ITA National Rankings. Senior Julia Jones jumped 13 spots to No. 7 in the nation in singles. Jones' No. 7 ranking is the highest for a Rebel since two-time All-American Kristi Boxx was ranked No. 9 on April 17, 2012. Freshman Arianne Hartono is ranked No. 40 and Mai El Kamash earned a ranking of No. 83. El Kamash and Hartono are ranked No. 54 in doubles.
The 100 Watch ...
Senior Julia Jones is now only 10 wins away from joining the 100-club. Jones chalked up her 90th win last weekend in a win over Rice's Natalie Beazant. She will be the fifth singles player in program history to join the exclusive club.
Home Matches Ahead ...
Rebel fans will be able to catch more women's tennis action Friday, February 20th, as the Rebels host Lipscomb.
Live Coverage ...
If you can't make it to the matches, you can follow them both this weekend in the live blog, as well as with .
For more information on Ole Miss Women's Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWTennis, on Facebook at OleMissWTennis and on Instagram at OleMissWTennis.
Players Mentioned
