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Rebels Drop SEC Opener to No. 7 Georgia
3/4/2016 | Women's Tennis
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OXFORD, Miss. - It was a beautiful day at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center Friday, with 433 fans enjoying free crawfish and the Southeastern Conference opener for the Ole Miss women's tennis team. However, No. 7 Georgia spoiled the party with a 4-0 win.
The Rebels came into the match off to their best start in program history, but the Bulldogs struck first. Natalie Suk and Tea Jandric shut out 38th-ranked Caroline Brinson and Silvia Garcia 6-0 on court two, but Georgia won 6-1 at one and 6-4 at three to secure the 1-0 lead.
Ole Miss got off to a pretty good start in some of the singles matches, but the Rebels were not able to maintain leads on those courts, and Georgia took five first sets.
The Bulldogs got a quick win at No. 1 as 14th-ranked Ellen Perez handed Rebel sophomore Arianne Hartono, ranked No. 40, her first dual match loss of the season, 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1 singles.
Georgia added to the lead when Laura Patterson turned her match against senior Marija Milutinovic rallying from 3-1 down to win the first set 6-4 and then carried it over to the second, winning 6-1 to make it 3-0. The Bulldogs closed out the Rebels when Kennedy Shaffer finished off Suk 6-3, 6-3 at No. 2 singles. Suk led 2-0 in the first set and then 3-0 in the second set, but Shaffer came back both times.
The remaining matches were stopped after Georgia clinched, with Jandric up a set and 4-4 in the second at four. Mai El Kamash led 5-1 in the first set and had a set point, and Zalina Khairudinova had one as well at five, but Georgia was able to get those first sets to keep the Rebels at bay.
Notables…
• The Rebels are now 7-1 overall, 0-1 in the SEC. They host Tennessee Sunday at 1 p.m.
• The Rebels are now a combined 15-3 at the top three spots in the lineup.
• Arianne Hartono lost her first match at No. 1 singles and is now 6-1.
• It marked the first time the Rebels have not come back this year after losing the doubles point. They did so against Stanford and Purdue.
Quoting Head Coach Mark Beyers…
"It was a tough loss against a good team. We were close in the doubles, played a great match at No. 2 and then lost 6-4 at three. In singles, a couple of sets went too quickly. We have to figure out a way to make some sets more competitive. We gave away quite a few leads too. Part of that is Georgia did a good job of continuing to fight."
On the momentum shift in singles…
"We were up at two (2-0, 3-0), three (5-1) and six (3-1) and ended up not winning those sets. When we have those leads we have to be able to close out those leads. At the same time I don't think there was a set where we were down two games that we came back and won the set. Credit Georgia, they kept fighting and came back, and that's why they are a top-five team."
On the crowd…
"The crowd was fantastic. That's why when we are up in these sets against a team like Georgia we have to take advantage of the opportunities to keep the crowd into it. It puts more pressure on them when all of a sudden you've won three first sets and they've won three first sets. Then it becomes a good old fashioned SEC battle. We weren't able to capitalize on the leads. But again, the crowd was great. Hopefully they'll come back out Sunday."
On Tennessee match…
"Tennessee has a great team as well. The same thing is going to happen like today, we are going to have to fight and close out some sets. Nothing can change the result from today, but we can learn for the next match. We saw a lot of good things today."
Next Up…
The Rebels welcome Tennessee Sunday at 1 p.m., to close out the opening weekend of SEC play. Fans will enjoy free pizza and receive and Ole Miss Tennis key chain.
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.
