The University of Mississippi Athletics
No. 21 Rebels to Host LSU, Texas A&M
3/25/2015 | Women's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. - Looking to bounce back from a tough weekend, the Ole Miss women's tennis team is back at home this weekend to face the LSU Tigers and the Texas A&M Aggies.
The Rebels and the Tigers are set to square off at 3 p.m., Friday and Sunday's match against the Aggies will start at 1 p.m. With great weather forecasted, both matches will take place at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
Friday's match is Greek Day and fans will receive an Ole Miss tank top. Fans at Sunday's match will receive an Iris Verboven poster.
"We had a tough weekend last weekend," head coach Mark Beyers said. "It's good to be home for two matches, and hopefully we can play well and get a couple of wins. We would like to encourage all the fans to come out and support us and see some exciting tennis."
Road Trip Recap ...
Senior Julia Jones, ranked No. 14 in the nation, knocked off No. 5 Brooke Austin of Florida to pick up her 96th career win and improved to 23-7 overall and 13-4 at No. 1 singles. Freshman Natalie Suk also posted a huge win over 32nd-ranked Belinda Woolcock at No. 4 singles. Even with the two big singles wins, Florida won the match 5-2. The Rebels traveled to Columbia, South Carolina Sunday to take on the Gamecocks. Freshman Arianne Hartono and junior Mai El Kamash both won their singles matches in straight sets, but the Rebels came up short and fell to South Carolina 4-2.
Scouting LSU ...
LSU (12-7, 3-4) split the weekend against No. 9 Alabama and No. 37 Auburn. After dropping the match to the Crimson Tide on Friday, 5-2, the Lady Tigers returned Sunday and defeated Auburn, 5-2. LSU is led by Joana Vale Costa, who is ranked No. 39 with a 23-8 overall record, 9-5 at No. 1 singles and 4-2 in the SEC. Junior Skylar Kuykendall, ranked No. 69 in the nation, extended her winning streak to five matches. She is 8-2 in her last 10 matches and is now 22-5 overall and 5-2 in SEC play. The Tigers are scheduled to play Nicholls State Wednesday.
Series ...
Ole Miss owns a 26-15 lead in the all-time series and has won six of the last seven matches and three in a row.
Scouting Texas A&M ...
Texas A&M had its season-best five-match win streak snapped Tuesday in a very close 4-3 loss to No. 5 Florida. Prior to that, the Aggies had posted wins over No. 6 Baylor and No. 9 Alabama. The Aggies are led by sophomore Rachel Pierson who is ranked No. 32 with an 18-7 record on the season and is riding a four-match win streak. The Aggies will face Mississippi State Friday before coming to Oxford.
Series ...
Texas A&M has won both meetings between the two schools, since joining the league in 2013. Last year's meeting was a close affair, with the Aggies holding off the Rebels 4-3 in College Station.
The 100 Watch ...
Senior Julia Jones, ranked No. 14 in the nation, picked up her 96th win last weekend vs. No. 5 Brooke Austin of Florida. Jones only needs four more wins to become the fifth Rebel to join the exclusive 100-club.
National Rankings ...
The Rebels are ranked No. 21 in the latest ITA National Rankings. In the singles rankings, senior Julia Jones is ranked No. 14, freshman Arianne Hartono is ranked No. 54, freshman Natalie Suk is ranked No. 107 and junior Mai El Kamash is ranked No. 120.
Live Coverage ...
If you live out of town and can't make it to the match, you can follow both matches with and on the live blog.
For more information on Ole Miss Women's Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter, @OleMissWTennis, on Facebook at OleMissWTennis and on Instagram at OleMissWTennis.
Players Mentioned
