The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, January 31
Oxford, Miss.
1 pm
Ole Miss
4
vs
3
Texas Tech
Bortles Shines in Rebels Comeback Friday Over Texas Tech
1/31/2020 | Women's Tennis
Senior Alexa Bortles delivered the clinch for Ole Miss in a 4-3 victory
OXFORD, Miss. -- The veteran quartet for Ole Miss Women's Tennis proved their experience Friday, as the Rebels rallied for a 4-3 comeback victory against Texas Tech in the first of a Big 12/SEC Crossover weekend event in the William F. Galtney Indoor Center.
Ole Miss moves to 4-1 on the season, while Texas Tech slips to 1-2.
The Red Raiders carried a 3-2 advantage and looked poised to win before the 1-2 tandem of senior Sabina Machalova and senior Alexa Bortles delivered the thrilling comeback on Courts 1 and 2. Machalova prevailed off of deuce point to take the third set 6-4, setting up Bortles for the clinch.
Bortles, a 2018 All-American, was knotted at deuce point 5-5 and placed a drop shot perfectly across the court take the 6-5 advantage and a big momentum shift. Bortles broke serve in the final game, registering her first clinch since she did so against SEC-foe Tennessee in 2018 and the seventh of her career.
Bortles commanded the entire match, picking up the first three games of her opening set and winning 7-2 in the tiebreak.
Down 1-0 after dropping an intense doubles point which came down to a 7-5 decision, seniors Anna Vrbenska and Tereza Janatova registered wins to keep Ole Miss alive in singles.
Janatova was the first to get the Rebs on the board, and Vrbenska soon followed to even the match score at 2-2. After falling in her opening set, Vrbenska responded surrendering just one game in her second to force a third set, and then repeating that result, including not allowing a point in her final game.
AT THE NET WITH… HEAD COACH MARK BEYERS
"This was a big match. It was very exciting for Alexa [Bortles] to clinch against that girl, she is a heck of a player. This was almost like a SEC match, where doubles comes down to 7-5 and then singles we have a bunch of three-setters and it comes down to someone holding serve at 5-4 or 6-5, something like that…
These are the kinds of matches that really make us better as a team. We learn so much about ourselves…. Overall, I think we can still play better, but the name of the game is to get to four points, and we were able to do that. Proud of the girls for battling and there was lot of momentum switches in the match, but at the end of the day we got it done."
RESULTS
No. 48 S. Machalova def. O. Peet (TTU), 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
A. Bortles def. M. Skriabina (TTU), 7-6 (2), 7-5
T. Janatova def. L. Mays (TTU), 6-4, 6-2
A. Vrbenska def. B. Marinkov (TTU), 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
N. Miller (TTU) def. K. Mize, 6-2, 6-2
K. Bridgforth (TTU) def. V. de Samucewicz, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0
S. Machalova/A. Bortles def. L. Mays/N. Miller (TTU), 6-1
O. Peet/M. Skriabina (TTU) def. No. 57 A. Vrbenska/T. Janatova, 7-5
R. Collins/K. Bridgforth (TTU) def. K. Mize/V. de Samucewicz, 6-1
UP NEXT
The Rebels host Baylor Saturday to conclude the SEC/Big 12 Weekend, slated for a 4 p.m. first serve and there will be free Chick Fil A for the first 75 fans.
_____________________________________________________________
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.
Ole Miss moves to 4-1 on the season, while Texas Tech slips to 1-2.
The Red Raiders carried a 3-2 advantage and looked poised to win before the 1-2 tandem of senior Sabina Machalova and senior Alexa Bortles delivered the thrilling comeback on Courts 1 and 2. Machalova prevailed off of deuce point to take the third set 6-4, setting up Bortles for the clinch.
Bortles, a 2018 All-American, was knotted at deuce point 5-5 and placed a drop shot perfectly across the court take the 6-5 advantage and a big momentum shift. Bortles broke serve in the final game, registering her first clinch since she did so against SEC-foe Tennessee in 2018 and the seventh of her career.
Bortles commanded the entire match, picking up the first three games of her opening set and winning 7-2 in the tiebreak.
Down 1-0 after dropping an intense doubles point which came down to a 7-5 decision, seniors Anna Vrbenska and Tereza Janatova registered wins to keep Ole Miss alive in singles.
Janatova was the first to get the Rebs on the board, and Vrbenska soon followed to even the match score at 2-2. After falling in her opening set, Vrbenska responded surrendering just one game in her second to force a third set, and then repeating that result, including not allowing a point in her final game.
AT THE NET WITH… HEAD COACH MARK BEYERS
"This was a big match. It was very exciting for Alexa [Bortles] to clinch against that girl, she is a heck of a player. This was almost like a SEC match, where doubles comes down to 7-5 and then singles we have a bunch of three-setters and it comes down to someone holding serve at 5-4 or 6-5, something like that…
These are the kinds of matches that really make us better as a team. We learn so much about ourselves…. Overall, I think we can still play better, but the name of the game is to get to four points, and we were able to do that. Proud of the girls for battling and there was lot of momentum switches in the match, but at the end of the day we got it done."
RESULTS
No. 48 S. Machalova def. O. Peet (TTU), 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
A. Bortles def. M. Skriabina (TTU), 7-6 (2), 7-5
T. Janatova def. L. Mays (TTU), 6-4, 6-2
A. Vrbenska def. B. Marinkov (TTU), 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
N. Miller (TTU) def. K. Mize, 6-2, 6-2
K. Bridgforth (TTU) def. V. de Samucewicz, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0
S. Machalova/A. Bortles def. L. Mays/N. Miller (TTU), 6-1
O. Peet/M. Skriabina (TTU) def. No. 57 A. Vrbenska/T. Janatova, 7-5
R. Collins/K. Bridgforth (TTU) def. K. Mize/V. de Samucewicz, 6-1
UP NEXT
The Rebels host Baylor Saturday to conclude the SEC/Big 12 Weekend, slated for a 4 p.m. first serve and there will be free Chick Fil A for the first 75 fans.
_____________________________________________________________
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
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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