.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
All-American Mondays: National Champions
11/18/2019 | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis
ALI HAMADEH; 1995, 1996
Ali Hamadeh, the highly regarded doubles player, made headlines in 1996 for his singles play. He participated in the NCAA Championships for the third year in a row, as one of the nation's top singles players and ended the year ranked No. 6 in the nation with a 26-9 record and earned All-SEC First-Team honors.
In 1995 Hamadeh captured the NCAA Doubles Championship with fellow All-American Mahesh Bhupathi, defeating three nationally ranked teams to get to the final. The duo completed the season as the No. 1 doubles team in the nation in the Rolex Rankings and were named to the All-SEC First Team in doubles as well as the Rolex All-Star Team.
Hamadeh teamed with Joakim Appelqvist to win the Rolex Region III doubles title and then went on to win the doubles title at the SEC Indoor Championships making him the SEC Doubles Champion for 1994.
MAHESH BHUPATHI; 1995
Mahesh Bhupathi blasted onto the scene as a freshman and left his mark on college tennis as one of the best singles and doubles players. He teamed with Ali Hamadeh to become the first Rebels ever to win a NCAA tennis title when they captured the nationally televised doubles championship in 1995. In addition to winning the NCAA Doubles Title, Bhupathi and Hamadeh became the first individuals in Mississippi history to be ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Bhupathi was the 1995 SEC Singles Champion, SEC Player-of -the-Year and finished ranked No. 3 in the nation. In his first year, Bhupathi ended the season as the third-best freshman in college tennis and earned ITA/Tennis Match Magazine Rookie of the Year honors. He made the SEC All-Position Team as the No. 1 doubles team in the conference and earned All-SEC honors in singles, not only as a freshman but also as the only player who was not a senior.
In 18 years on the ATP Tour, Bhupathi earned almost seven million dollars in prize money and captured 52 doubles titles, including 12 grand slam titles. In 1999 he and his partner Leander Paes won the French Open Doubles Championship and Wimbledon. They were the first doubles pair in the modern era to reach the finals of all four grand slams in a calendar year. The duo ended the year ranked No. 1 in the world doubles rankings.
In 2012, Bhupathi won the ATP Masters 1000 Paris with Rohan Bopanna, and was a finalist at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, his 5th year-end championship final showing. He captured his 12th grand slam title and eighth mixed doubles championship, teaming with Sania Mirza to win the French Open. Bhupathi successfully started the IPTL which featured several of the top players in the world, including Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
For his accomplishments in collegiate tennis and on the world stage, Bhupathi was inducted into the ITA Collegiate Hall of Fame in May of 2010.
DEVIN BRITTON; 2009
Current assistant coach Devin Britton made his debut in spectacular fashion, becoming the youngest NCAA Singles Champion ever and just the third freshman ever to win it, joining the likes of the famed John McEnroe. In addition, Britton became the first Rebel to win the NCAA Singles title and the first freshman in the history of the program to earn All-America honors. He was the first American-born player to win the NCAA singles title since 2000, and the first freshman since 1996 to win the national title and the first non-seeded player since 1997. Britton defeated three seeded players en route to his national title.
The ITA Southeast Region Rookie of the Year ended the year ranked No. 19 in the nation in singles, earned All-SEC honors and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team. As a two-time SEC Freshman of the Week, Britton helped lead the Rebels to the NCAA Elite Eight and a final national ranking of No. 4. He also played a huge role in the Rebels claiming the SEC regular season title with an undefeated record, and clinched the win over Tennessee to give the Rebels their second consecutive SEC Tournament Championship. Britton also clinched the win over LSU to send the Rebels to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. He posted a 26-9 overall record, 19-8 in dual matches, and went 15-4 at No. 2 singles. Playing in the top half of the lineup, Britton posted a 7-4 record in the SEC. The SEC Indoor Singles Semifinalist ended the year winning 11 in a row.
After five years of playing professional tennis, Britton returned to Ole Miss and earned his degree while serving as a student assistant. After graduating in 2016, Britton assumed his current role as assistant coach.
Women's Tennis- ARI HARTONO; 2016, 2018
Arianne Hartono became the 12th All-American in the history of the program in 2016, and followed that up with the school's first ever NCAA Championship in women's singles in 2018. In 2017, Hartono helped lead the Rebels to their ninth straight NCAA appearance and earned All-SEC first team honors. She ended the year ranked No. 32 in singles and No. 25 in doubles.
Hartono advanced to the round of 16 at the NCAA Singles Championship in 2016 on her way to earning All-America honors, and also participated in the NCAA Doubles Championship. She ended the year ranked No. 26 in the nation in singles and No. 32 in doubles. In addition, Hartono earned All-SEC second team honors and finished with a team-leading 22-14 overall record, 13-7 at No. 1 singles. She teamed with Mai El Kamash for a 10-8 record at No. 1 doubles. Hartono posted 10 nationally-ranked wins in singles.
In 2018, Hartono was named SEC Player of the Year and guided the Rebels to a No. 8 final ranking, their highest for the program since 1999 after reaching as high as No. 3 during the
season. Seeded sixth, Hartono cruised through the first three rounds of play, taking them in straight sets, before needing three sets in the quarter and semifinals before downing Pepperdine's Ashley Lahey 6-4, 6-2 to win the program's first NCAA title. She finished the year taking 17 straight matches, including 23 against ranked opponents. Hartono took down five ranked players on her road to the Championship.
She also earned All-American honors in doubles, teaming up with partner and current Rebel Alexa Bortles, becoming the third player in program history to earn the honor in both mediums in the same season. The duo finished the season ranked No. 7 in the country and were also given All-SEC honors.
Hartono was a four-time ITA Scholar-Athlete and four-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Players Mentioned
