The University of Mississippi Athletics
Women's Tennis to Begin NCAAs at Home
5/1/2018 | Women's Tennis
NCAA Bracket
OXFORD, Miss. -- For the third time in program history and first since 2012, the Ole Miss women's tennis team will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, as the 64-team bracket was revealed Tuesday on NCAA.com. The Rebels earned the No. 5 overall seed and will host the first and second rounds at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center May 11-12.
The Rebels, who earned their 10th consecutive bid, also hosted in 1999 and 2012.
Making the trip to Oxford will be Missouri State, Syracuse and Wichita State. Ole Miss will face Missouri State May 11 at 3 p.m., while Syracuse and Wichita State will kick off the weekend at Noon on May 11. The winners will meet May 12 at 2 p.m. for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen in Winston Salem, North Carolina.
Tickets for the NCAA first and second rounds are $7 per day or $10 for the entire session, and $3 for students college-aged and younger.
Quick Hits...
• The Rebels are making their 21st overall NCAA appearance and 10th straight.
• This marks the 12th overall NCAA appearance under head coach Mark Beyers.
• The Rebels are led by SEC Player of the Year Arianne Hartono, who heads into the NCAA Championships with a 20-2 dual match record.
• In addition to Hartono, Alexa Bortles, Sabina Machalova Tea Jandric and Anna Vrbenska earned All-SEC honors.
• Missouri State comes into the NCAA Tournament with a 12-9 overall record. They won the Missouri Valley Conference Championship to earn the automatic bid. The Bears are led by junior Fati Khamassi's 16-4 record at No. 4 singles.
• Syracuse enters the NCAAs with a 17-7 record. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament and are led by junior Gabriela Knutson, who is currently ranked No. 4 in singles.
• Wichita State finished the regular season at 18-7 and are making their 10th consecutive appearance in the field of 64.
Quoting Head Coach Mark Beyers...
"We are extremely excited to host. We have two players graduating, and for them to be able to be here for that as well and for us to be able to sleep in our beds and not have to go on the road again is fantastic. We are looking forward to getting a big crowd with graduation and baseball here that weekend and hopefully win two matches to advance."
On Rest of Regional...
"Syracuse plays in the ACC, so they're used to playing against top 10 teams. They're not going to be intimidated playing a team ranked No. 5. They've played Georgia Tech, Duke and North Carolina. Wichita State, Coach (x) Foster does a great job over there. I don't know that much about Missouri State, but we'll start learning more in the next couple of days."
Senior Arianne Hartono...
"It's been a phenomenal season so far and we are excited with what's to come. It's always a battle and every team in Division I is a good team. We're not going to underestimate anyone. We know our strengths and what we have to do to take care of business. We are just going to go out there, have fun and enjoy the battle."
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
