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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Hawai'i
Women's Tennis Defeats Hawaii 4-3
1/19/2017 | Women's Tennis
HONOLULU - In a tough battle from start to finish, the Ole Miss women's tennis team built a 3-1 lead at Hawaii and then freshman Anna Vrbenska won a three-setter at No. 3 singles to clinch the 4-3 win Wednesday.
The Rebels (2-0) got on the board first by taking a close doubles point with wins at No. 2 and 3 doubles. Alexa Bortles and Natalie Suk teamed up to defeat Hawaii's Cindy Nguyen and Klara Pribylova 6-4 and then Zalina Khairudinova and Tea Jandric finished off Marina Hruba and Alzbeta Houbova 6-4 at No. 3 to clinch the point.
Hawaii tied it up when the reigning Big West Player of the Week, Petra Melounova defeated Suk 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2 singles. Bortles took out Alzbeta Houbova 6-2, 6-2 at No. 6 singles to give the Rebels the lead again, 2-1.
Sophomore Tea Jandric increased the Rebels' lead to 3-1 as she defeated Klara Pribylova 6-4, 6-2 at No. 5, but then the Rainbow Wahine pulled to within one, as Nguyen rallied to knock off No. 31 ranked Arianne Hartono 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 1 singles.
That left Khairudinova on court four and freshman Anna Vrbenska on court three, both locked in third sets with the Rebels needing one more for the win. Vrbenska got a break and served for it at 5-4. After leading 40-15, her opponent won the next two points, before Vrbenska won the deciding point to clinch.
At the net…
• The Rebels improved to 2-0 on the season
• The Rebels improved to 3-0 all-time against Hawaii.
• Freshman Alexa Bortles finished her first trip with the Rebels 4-0 in doubles and singles.
• Sophomore Tea Jandric also went 4-0 on the trip in doubles and singles and has won four in a row dating back to the fall.
• Freshman Anna Vrbenska improved to 7-3 on the year with her match-clinching win.
Complete results
Doubles
1. Arianne Hartono/Anna Vrbenska (OM) vs. Roxanne Resma/Petra Melounova (UH) 5-5, sus.
2. Alexa Bortles/Natalie Suk (OM) def. Cindy Nguyen/Klara Pribylova (UH) 6-4
3. Zalina Khairudinova/Tea Jandric (OM) def. Marina Hruba/Alzbeta Houbova (UH) 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3
Singles
1. Cindy Nguyen (UH) def. #31 Arianne Hartono (OM) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
2. Petra Melounova (UH) def. Natalie Suk (OM) 6-1, 6-2
3. Anna Vrbenska (OM) def. Marina Hruba (UH) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
4. Roxanne Resma (UH) def. Zalina Khairudinova (OM) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
5. Tea Jandric (OM) def. Klara Pribylova (UH) 6-4, 6-2
6. Alexa Bortles (OM) def. Alzbeta Houbova (UH) 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 5, 1, 3, 4
Thoughts from head coach Mark Beyers…
"It was a tough 4-3 road win against a really good Hawaii team. It's nice to know that even when we are not firing on all cylinders, we have the depth to beat a good team on the road. We are excited to come back to Oxford 2-0 to start the season. On this road trip, the girls worked extremely hard in practice and eventually that hard work is going to pay off in matches. We will have to step up our game again next week at the kick off weekend in Charlottesville against Virginia."
Up next…
The Rebels return home for a week before heading to Charlottesville, Va., Jan. 28-29 for the ITA Kickoff, where they will face the host Virginia in the first round.
For more information on Ole Miss Women's Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWTennis, on Facebook at OleMissWTennis and on Instagram at OleMissWTennis. Also follow Coach Beyers on Twitter, @MarkBeyers.
Players Mentioned
