The University of Mississippi Athletics
Home Sweet Home for No. 25 Rebels
2/4/2016 | Women's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. - Almost a week ago the No. 25 ranked Ole Miss women's tennis team jump-started the 2016 season with a bang, knocking off No. 8 Stanford 4-3 in Nashville. The Rebels welcome No. 45 Purdue Friday followed by Memphis Saturday, to the Gillom Sports Center.
Promotions...
Friday's match begins at 2 p.m., and fans will enjoy free pizza plus receive a souvenir poster of senior Marija Milutinovic. If you're planning to come down for the men's basketball game against Vanderbilt on Saturday, make a day of it and come watch women's tennis against Memphis at Noon. Fans will get a souvenir poster of senior Mai El Kamash.
Down Goes No. 8...
In their last action, Ole Miss knocked off No. 8 Stanford 4-3 in Nashville for the first time in program history. The Cardinal boast a program-best 17 NCAA Championships, but the Rebels would not be denied, rallying from a 3-1 deficit for the victory. After dropping the doubles point and a straight set match at No. 3 singles, Arianne Hartono defeated the No. 20 ranked player in the nation in three sets to put the Rebels on the board. Moments later the Cardinal went up 3-1 with a win at No. 5 singles. Sophomore Natalie Suk finished off a three-setter at No. 2 singles and then freshman Tea Jandric did the same at No. 4 to tie the match, setting up senior Marija Milutinovic to close out the win at No. 6 singles, 7-5 in the third.
Top 10 Wins...
The win against Stanford marked the first top 10 victory for the Rebels since 2012, when they beat then No. 8 Tennessee 5-2. Senior Mai El Kamash and sophomore Arianne Hartono posted a big win in doubles, beating the No. 10 ranked team and handing them just their second loss dating back to the fall.
Hartono at No. 1...
Playing just her second match ever at No. 1 singles, sophomore Arianne Hartono, ranked No. 84 in the nation, posted the biggest win of her career last week, upsetting the No. 20 ranked player in the nation, Taylor Davidson, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 to begin the Rebels comeback against Stanford.
Scouting Purdue...
Purdue enters Friday's match ranked No. 45 and 5-3 on the season. They are coming off back-to-back losses to Kansas (4-1) and No. 36 Arkansas (4-3) last weekend. The Boilermakers are led juniors Deborah Suarez and Andjela Djokovic at the top two spots.
Series...
This will be the first ever meeting between Ole Miss and Purdue.
Scouting Memphis...
Memphis comes into Saturday's match at 1-1 on the season. They beat Chattanooga 6-1 and lost to Denver 4-2. The Tigers are led by junior Anki Wind at the top spot.
Series...
Ole Miss leads the all-time series with Memphis 23-3. The two teams last met in 2014 with the Rebels claiming a 4-3 win.
National Rankings...
Due to the National Team Indoor being this weekend, there is no new team ranking this week, so the Rebels are still ranked No. 25 in the Oracle ITA Tennis Rankings. Should they win both their matches this weekend the Rebels will likely make a major move due to the win against Stanford. The SEC leads the nation with eight teams in the top 25, four of which will play the Rebels in Oxford later this year.
For more information on Ole Miss Women's Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter @OleMissWTennis, on Facebook at OleMissWTennis and on Instagram at OleMissWTennis. Also follow Coach Beyers on Twitter, @MarkBeyers.
Players Mentioned
