The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Missouri
Rebels Drop Close 4-3 Match at Mizzou
4/16/2016 | Women's Tennis
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Despite dropping the doubles point, the Ole Miss women's tennis team had a chance to come away with a victory at Missouri to close out the regular season, but the Tigers rallied to top the Rebels 4-3 at the Mizzou Tennis Complex Saturday.
After dropping the doubles point, the Rebels picked up two wins in singles from the seniors to go up 2-1. Mai El Kamash won hers 6-2, 1-0, ret., at No. 3 singles, and then Marija Milutinovic won 6-3, 6-2 on court six.
Zalina Khairudinova handed the Rebels a 3-1 lead when she finished off Mizzou's Cassidy Spearman 6-3, 7-5 at No. 4 singles.
Needing just one more point, the Rebels had won the first set in two of the remaining matches. Mizzou would close out a straight set win on court two, to make it 3-2.
After claiming the first set 6-3, Arianne Hartono dropped her second set at No. 1 singles, 6-3. Hartono gained control late in the third set and appeared ready to deliver the victory up 5-3. Her opponent, Bea Santos Machado, rallied to win four straight games for 7-5 to tie the overall score 3-3.
The match came down to court five with freshman Tea Jandric battling Brittany Lashway. Jandric won the first set 6-3, but Lashway battled back to win the second set in a tiebreaker, 7-6(4) and the third set 6-2 to clinch.
Notables…
• The Rebels are now 12-10 overall and finished 3-10 in the SEC.
• The Rebels suffered their first loss to Missouri and their fourth 4-3 setback of the season.
• Zalina Khairudinova improved to 17-9 overall, 9-6 in dual matches.
• Arianne Hartono and Mai El Kamash improved to 9-7 at No. 1 doubles.
Quoting Head coach Mark Beyers…
"Tough loss. We definitely had our chances. I have to give credit to Missouri for continuing to fight even when they fell behind. Today was a microcosm of our season, putting ourselves in position to win, but not closing out sets and matches. It's extremely frustrating."
Next up…
Ole Miss heads to Baton Rouge, Louisiana next week for the SEC Tournament.
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
