The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Northwestern - NCAA First Round
Season Ends for Ole Miss in NCAA First Round
5/13/2016 | Women's Tennis
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - A tough season came to end Friday for the Ole Miss women's tennis team with a 4-0 loss to Northwestern in the first round of the NCAA Championship at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
Already down two players heading into the match, the Rebels played without sophomore Natalie Suk as well. That meant moving the lineup around.
Northwestern won the doubles point with wins on courts one and two to take an early 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats took five of the first six sets, including two in tiebreakers. Freshman Allie Sanford dropped a 6-4, 6-1 match to NU's Alex Chatt at No. 4 singles and then junior Zalina Khairudinova fell to Alicia Barnett in two tight sets, 7-6(1), 6-4 at No. 3 singles.
Northwestern closed out the match when Brooke Rischbieth defeated freshman Brooke Stevens 7-6(3), 6-3 on court six.
When play was stopped, sophomore Arianne Hartono and senior Mai El Kamash were locked in third sets at one and three, respectively, while senior Marija Milutinovic was up a set and in a second set tiebreaker at five.
Notables…
• Ole Miss was making its eighth straight NCAA appearance.
• The Rebels conclude the season 13-12, while Northwestern advances to the second round to face the winner of North Carolina/ETSU.
• Northwestern evened up the all-time series with Ole Miss at 3-3.
• Arianne Hartono finished the regular season at 20-13 overall, 13-7 at No. 1 singles.
Quoting Head coach Mark Beyers…
"It's always tough to lose, especially when it is at the NCAA tournament, because it means your season is over. I thought the girls battled extremely hard today. We had to move our lineup around because of some injuries, but every single player battled until the end. Arianne and Mai will now get ready for the NCAA individual tournament in Tulsa."
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
