The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels to Begin SEC Play at Home
3/2/2016 | Women's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. - Off to their best start (7-0) in school history, the No. 26 ranked Ole Miss women's tennis team is ready to to begin SEC play against No. 7 Georgia and Tennessee this weekend.
The Rebels and Bulldogs will square off Friday at 3 p.m. Sunday's match against Tennessee starts at 1 p.m. Both matches will be played at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, and admission is free.
Promotions…
Friday, fans will enjoy free crawfish and receive a souvenir poster of junior Zalina Khairudinova. On Sunday fans will receive an Ole Miss Tennis keychain and enjoy free pizza.
Recapping Tulane…
The Rebels swept Tulane in their last outing to improve to 7-0, the best start in program history. Due to the threat of inclement weather, the match began with singles. Sophomore Arianne Hartono, junior Zalina Khairudinova and senior Marija Milutinovic posted straight set wins at one, five and six and then freshman Tea Jandric handed the Rebels the victory with a straight set win on court four.
Scouting Georgia…
Georgia comes into the weekend 6-1 after a win over in-state rival Georgia Tech on Feb. 20th. The Bulldogs are led by 14th-ranked Ellen Perez who owns a 14-4 overall record, 3-1 at No. 1 singles. They also boast the No. 22 ranked player, Caroline Brinson, the No. 64 ranked player, Silvia Garcia, and the No. 98 ranked player, Kennedy Shaffer. Both the Bulldogs top two doubles teams are ranked with a combined 8-1 record in dual matches.
Series...
Georgia leads the all-time series 37-8. The Rebels last win in the series came in 2010, 5-2 in Oxford.
Scouting Tennessee…
Tennessee enters the opening weekend of SEC play at 6-4 and coming off a 5-2 win over Florida Gulf Coast University and a 5-2 win against Georgia State last weekend. The Vols are led by 65th-ranked Sadie Hammond at No. 1 singles.
Series...
Tennessee owns a 26-17 lead in the all-time series. The Rebels have won two straight, including a 4-0 victory last year in Knoxville.
Top of the Lineup…
The Rebels are a combined 15-1 at the top of the lineup. Arianne Hartono is 6-0 at No. 1 singles, Natalie Suk is 4-0 at No. 2 and Mai El Kamash is 3-1 at No. 3 singles. Suk played one match at No. 1 and El Kamash played once at No. 2.
Rebel streaks…
Four Rebels now have winning streaks of at least five, including Arianne Hartono with seven straight and both Tea Jandric and Marija Milutinovic with six consecutive wins.
Quoting Head Coach Mark Beyers…
"We are excited to start SEC play this weekend with two great matches. We finished the non-conference portion of our schedule unscathed, including the big win against Stanford, but now the competition heats up. Georgia and Tennessee are both solid teams and we'll need to be at our best. The weather looks great for both days, so we encourage all our fans to come out Friday and enjoy free crawfish and great tennis."
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
