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Ole Miss
Tennessee - SEC Tournament
No. 6 Rebels Take Down Host Tennessee at SEC Tournament
4/19/2018 | Women's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Upsets were the story of the day on Thursday in the second round of the SEC Tournament, but the No. 5 seed and No. 6 ranked Ole Miss women's tennis team avoided that with a 4-2 win against the host, Tennessee, at the Barksdale Tennis Stadium.
The Rebels advanced to the quarterfinals where they will face the No. 4 seed and No. 8 ranked Georgia Friday at 5 p.m. CT.
With the previous match going down to the wire, Ole Miss and Tennessee got a late start, but the Rebels took the early momentum getting the doubles point with wins on courts three and one. After Tennessee won 6-3 on court two, Natalie Suk and Anna Vrbenska won 6-4 on court three for their eighth straight win. Arianne Hartono and Alexa Bortles finished off a 6-3 win on court one to clinch the point.
The Rebels won four first sets in singles including two tiebreakers, to maintain momentum, and then Sabina Machalova made it 2-0 with an impressive 6-0, 6-2 win against Elizabeth Profit at No. 2 singles.
Tennessee answered with a straight set win on court five, but then Tea Jandric finished off Ariadna Riley 6-0, 6-4 on court three to give the Rebels a 3-1 lead. The Lady Vols pulled to within one (3-2) with a three-set win on court four.
That left Hartono and sophomore Tereza Janatova on courts one and six to get the final point for the Rebels. Both won first set tiebreakers, but Hartono dropped her second set. She led the final set 3-0 before Janatova closed out UT's Johanna Silva 7-6(6), 6-4 on court six to clinch the win.
Quick Hits…
• The Rebels improved to 19-5 overall.
• The Rebels have won eight straight matches.
• The Rebels are now 10-1 on the road this year.
• Ole Miss improved to 27-20 all-time against Tennessee and has now won six of the last seven meetings.
• Sabina Machalova improved to 19-10 overall, 11-7 in dual matches.
• Tea Jandric improved to 20-10 overall, 13-5 in dual matches.
• Tereza Janatova is now 8-2 overall, 6-1 in dual matches.
• Natalie Suk and Anna Vrbenska improved to 10-2 and have won eight straight.
• Arianne Hartono and Alexa Bortles improved to 21-9 overall, 12-4 at No. 1 doubles.
#6 Ole Miss 4, #35 Tennessee 2
Doubles
1. #5 Alexa Bortles/Arianne Hartono (OM) def. #57 Ariadna Riley/Kaitlin Staines (UT) 6-3
2. Sadie Hammond/Gabby Schuck (UT) def. Sabina Machalova/Tea Jandric (OM) 6-3
3. Natalie Suk/Anna Vrbenska (OM) def. Chelsea Sawyer/Elizabeth Profit (UT) 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1. #13 Arianne Hartono (OM) vs. Sadie Hammond (UT) 7-6(3) 4-6, 3-0, sus.
2. #77 Sabina Machalova (OM) def. Elizabeth Profit (UT) 6-0, 6-2
3. Tea Jandric (OM) def. Ariadna Riley (UT) 6-0, 6-4
4. Kaitlin Staines (UT) def. Anna Vrbenska (OM) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
5. Gabby Schuck (UT) def. Alexa Bortles (OM) 6-2, 6-1
6. Tereza Janatova (OM) def. Johanna Silva (UT) 7-6(6), 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 3, 4, 6
Courtside with Head Coach Mark Beyers...
"This was a tough win in tough conditions. Tennessee played very well and pushed us big time. We are proud of our kids for battling the elements and hostile crowd and coming up with four points."
Next up…
The Rebels face a rematch with No. 4 seed and No. 8 ranked Georgia in the quarterfinals. In the regular season meeting in Oxford, the Rebels won a thriller, 4-3. The match came down to No. 4 singles where Anna Vrbenska clinched 6-4 in the third against Bulldog Elena Christofi.
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
