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The University of Mississippi Athletics
No. 23 Rebels in Oklahoma for ITA Kick-Off
1/25/2018 | Women's Tennis
Live Scoring | Live Streaming
OXFORD, Miss. - The No. 23-ranked Ole Miss women's tennis team (1-0) is in Stillwater, Oklahoma for the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Hosted by No. 15 Oklahoma State, the Rebels are paired up with No. 24 TCU in the first round, while OSU faces No. 22 Arizona State at the Greenwood Tennis Center.
Schedule of Play…
Friday, Jan. 26
#23 Ole Miss vs. #24 TCU - 1 PM
#15 Oklahoma State vs. #22 Arizona State - 4 PM
Saturday, Jan. 27
Championship Match - 3 PM
Consolation Match - 6 PM
Follow Along…
Fans can follow along throughout the ITA Kick-Off with live scoring and live streaming as well on Twitter @OleMissWTennis. The official hashtag for the tournament is #ITAKickOff.
About ITA Kick-Off…
The 10th annual ITA Kick-Off Weekend takes place January 26-29, 2018, at 24 different Division I tennis facilities across the country. In all, there are 60 teams competing for both men's and women's in ITA Kick-Off Weekend events.
There are 15 "regionals" played on both the men's and women's side, with four teams competing in each regional. The winners of the single-elimination event advance to next month's ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championships. Wisconsin (women's) and Washington (men's) will serve as hosts for the National Team Indoors and received automatic invitations to the event, and are exempt from competing in the Kick-Off Weekend.
Last Time Out…
In their season opener, the Rebels defeated Purdue 5-2. The Rebels won the doubles point and got a quick win at No. 6 singles from Tereza Janatova. Senior Arianne Hartono and Natalie Suk earned straight set wins to close out the Boilermakers.
Rebels in the Rankings…
Ole Miss remained at No. 23 in the latest ITA Team Rankings. The Rebels boast four players in the singles rankings, and two of their three doubles teams in the doubles rankings.
Scouting TCU…
TCU enters the ITA Kick-Off at 2-0 after picking up identical 4-0 wins last weekend against Southern Miss and Arkansas State. The Horned Frogs are led by senior Donika Bashota and 59th-ranked Aleksandra Zenovka. Zenovka leads the team with an 11-7 overall record.
Rebels vs. Horned Frogs…
Ole Miss leads the all-time series 3-2 vs. TCU, but the Horned Frogs have won the last two meetings in 2007 and 2008.
Looking at Oklahoma State and Arizona State…
Oklahoma State has spent 62 consecutive weeks in the ITA top 25. The Cowgirls enter the 2018 season coming off another historic season in which they advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for the second-straight year and won their second consecutive Big 12 regular season title. OSU returns three players from the 2017 campaign in senior Vladica Babic (ranked No. 21) and juniors Sofia Blanco and Katarina Stresnakova. The Cowgirls also have East Tennessee State transfer, Marina Guinart, who is ranked No. 63.
Arizona State took down Northern Arizona 7-0 a week ago and jumped up to No. 22 in the latest ITA Rankings. The Sun Devils boast two players in the singles rankings in sophomore Savannah Slaysman (No. 83) and senior Kelley Anderson (No. 93).
Courtside with Head Coach Mark Beyers…
"The ITA Kick-Off field here at Oklahoma State might be the most competitive regional in the entire country, with all four teams currently ranked in the top 25 in the country. There will be some extremely close matches and I will not be surprised if all the matches come down to a 4-3 decision. We want to prove that qualifying for last year's National Team Indoor Championship was no fluke and that we are one of the best 16 teams in the country."
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.
