The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Ready for NCAA First Round Match
5/11/2016 | Women's Tennis
Live Scoring | NCAA Notes | NCAA Bracket
OXFORD. Miss. â€" The Ole Miss women's tennis team has landed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina to begin preparation for their NCAA Championship first round match against Northwestern. The Rebels and Wildcats face off at 9 a.m. Friday from the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
Ole Miss Makes 19th NCAA Appearance…
Ole Miss is making its 19th overall and eighth consecutive NCAA appearance. The Rebels first made the NCAA Championships in 1991. They went again in 1992 and 1993. The 1996 season began a streak of seven consecutive NCAA appearances. The program's latest appearance streak began in 2009. The Rebels have advanced to the Sweet Sixteen eight times and the Elite Eight four times.
Two for Two…
Ole Miss is one of 36 schools to have both its men's and women's tennis teams in the NCAA Championships. The men earned their 23rd consecutive NCAA bid and are headed to Berkeley, California. The Rebels will face Denver in the first round Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.
Scouting Northwestern…
Northwestern (13-10) earned its 18th straight and 27th overall NCAA appearance. The Wildcats come into the NCAAs ranked No. 30. They finished 10-1 in Big Ten play to earn a second-place finish. Northwestern has faced one of the toughest schedules in the nation to date. All 10 of the team's non-conference dual matches were against ranked opponents, including wins over Arizona State and Georgia Tech. The Wildcats have defeated six ranked foes overall this season, including a victory over then-No. 10 Michigan on April 22. NU is led by redshirt sophomore Maddie Lipp who is ranked No. 52 in the nation in singles and No. 28 in doubles with Alex Chatt.
Series…
Ole Miss holds a slight 3-2 edge in the all-time series with Northwestern. The two schools haven't met in dual match competition since a 5-2 victory by the Wildcats over the fifth-ranked Rebels at the National Team Indoor Championships in Madison, Wisconsin, on Feb. 18, 2000. The Rebels did face some of the Wildcat players last fall at the Alabama tournament.
The winner gets…
The winner of the contest faces the winner of the match between host and third-seeded North Carolina and ETSU with a spot in the Round of 16 on the line.
Rebels in the Rankings…
The Rebels enter the NCAA Championships ranked No. 42 in the nation. The SEC boasts four of the top nine teams in the top 25 and leads the nation with 11 of the 14 league teams earning NCAA bids. In singles, senior Arianne Hartono is ranked No. 33, sophomore Natalie Suk is ranked No. 74 and senior Mai El Kamash is ranked No. 103. In doubles, Hartono and El Kamash are ranked No. 25.
Quoting head coach Mark Beyers…
"This is what you play for the entire season. We are excited to be done with school for the year, and now the players can focus on just tennis. Northwestern has traditionally been a great program and we expect it to be a great match."
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.
