The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Close Book on 2016 Season
6/10/2016 | Women's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. - An eighth straight NCAA appearance, an All-American, All-SEC honors and a win over the NCAA Champion are among the highlights for the Ole Miss women's tennis team in 2016.
2016 NOTEBOOK
Eight Straight…
Ole Miss (13-12) earned its 19th overall and eighth straight NCAA bid and traveled to Chapel Hill, North Carolina for the first and second rounds. The Rebels lost to Northwestern 4-0 in the first round.
Down goes National Champion…
A highlight of the season, the Rebels knocked off eventual NCAA Champion Stanford (ranked No. 8 at the time) 4-3 in Nashville, Tennessee on Jan. 29. The Cardinal ended up winning their 18th NCAA title in May. It marked the Rebels first ever win against Stanford in program history.
Hartono is an All-American…
The All-American wall at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center will need to be updated, as sophomore Arianne Hartono earned All-America honors. She reached the round of 16 in singles at the NCAA Championships and finished with a 22-14 record. Hartono became the 12th All-American in program history and made it the second year in a row for the Rebels to have an All-American after Julia Jones earned the honor in 2015.
All-SEC again…
Arianne Hartono earned All-SEC second team honors in her first year playing No. 1 singles for the Rebels. Last year, she was named to the All-Freshman Team. Ole Miss has had at least one member of the squad named to the All-SEC Team every year (15) under head coach Mark Beyers.
El Kamash, Milutinovic earn prestigious awards…
Seniors Mai El Kamash and Marija Milutinovic were an integral part of the Ole Miss women's tennis team during their careers, and both earned Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Southern Region Awards. El Kamash received the Southern Region Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award, and Milutinovic earned the Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award.
National rankings…
Several Rebels earned ITA national and regional rankings. Arianne Hartono finished the year ranked No. 26 in the nation in singles and No. 32 in doubles with Mai El Kamash. Natalie Suk ended the year ranked No. 72 in singles, El Kamash earned a final ranking of No. 106 and Tea Jandric concluded her freshman campaign ranked No. 112.
Off the court success…
While earning their eighth straight NCAA bid, the Rebels got the job done in the classroom, posting a 3.52 grade point average for the year. Nine players made a 3.0 GPA or higher and Arianne Hartono was one of five players to make the Chancellor's Honor Roll with a 4.0 GPA. The Rebels earned an NCAA Public Recognition Award for ranking in the top 10 percent in the recent multiyear Academic Progress Rate with a perfect 1000. More academic honors are forthcoming with the announcements of the SEC Spring and First-Year Player Academic Honor Rolls as well as the ITA academic honors in July.
Graduates…
Mai El Kamash, Marija Milutinovic and Allie Robbins participated in a special graduation ceremony for student-athletes who were competing during regular graduation ceremonies.
Looking ahead to 2017…
Looking ahead to the 2017 season, the Rebels will return seven players from this year including All-American Arianne Hartono and Natalie Suk, who held down the top two spots in the lineup. Also returning will be lone senior year Zalina Khairudinova as well as rising sophomores Tea Jandric, Allie Sanford and Brooke Stevens. The Rebels will also get a huge boost, as freshman Terza Janatova, who missed the entire season due to injury, will be back.
Rebels add Czech standout…
In addition to the returning players, the Rebels will welcome Anna Vrbenska of the Czech Republic, who signed last fall and will be here in August. Vrbenska owns a career-high WTA Ranking of 954 in singles and 789 in doubles. She is also ranked No. 32 in the Czech Republic Women's Rankings. Vrbenska teamed with sophomore Natalie Suk to win the ITF Doubles title in Austria last summer.
For more information on Ole Miss Women's Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter @OleMissWTennis, on Facebook at OleMissWTennis and on Instagram at OleMissWTennis, follow Coach Beyers on Twitter at @MarkBeyers.
Players Mentioned
