The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, February 21
Orlando, Fla.
4 pm
Ole Miss
4
at
3
UCF
Janatova, Rebs Rally to Upset No. 14 UCF Friday
2/21/2020 | Women's Tennis
Ole Miss wins fourth in a row to wrap nonconference play
ORLANDO, Fla. – Wins on the first three courts in singles play provided a huge spark for Ole Miss Women's Tennis (8-2), who upset No. 14 UCF 4-3 Friday at the USTA National Campus for their fourth-straight victory.
The win is the first Top 15 road upset for Ole Miss since January 2018, when they took down No. 15 Oklahoma State 4-1 to qualify for National Indoors. The Knights had won five straight matches against SEC teams prior to Friday, and drop to 6-3 on the season.
After falling behind in the doubles point, things looked grim for the Rebs, who fell behind 3-1 after wins on Courts 4 and 6. Knotted up at 3-3, all eyes turned to veteran Tereza Janatova, who powered back after dropping six straight games to triumph in a third-set tiebreak, 7-5, after winning deuce point to force the break.
Janatova had to rally, falling in her opening set also via tiebreak, but controlled the second set, winning 6-3 to force a third. She continued to carry the upper hand, winning the first five games of the finale before UCF's Nadja Bay Christians fought back to keep the Knights' hopes alive. Janatova carries a perfect record in dual matches, and has won nine straight contests.
Ole Miss got on the board via freshman Kelsey Mize, who earned the first ranked win of her career with a 7-5, 6-4 decision over a Top 50 player in Rebeka Stolmar (No. 41).
Senior Alexa Bortles followed Mize, registering her first ranked victory of the year after taking down Valeriya Zeleva, No. 64 in the latest ITA rankings, on a second-set break 7-4.
Junior Sabina Machalova set up Janatova for the clinch, winning the first five games of her third set to cruise to victory, 6-1.
AT THE NET WITH… HEAD COACH MARK BEYERS
"This was one of the most amazing college tennis matches I have ever been a part of. There were so many momentum changes and both teams had opportunities to win. I'm incredibly proud of this group. UCF is an amazingly talented team, and to beat them at their place is no small feat."
RESULTS
OLE MISS 4, UCF 3
No. 53 S. Machalova def. E. Levashova (UCF), 6-3, 5-7, 6-1
A. Bortles def. No. 64 V. Zeleva (UCF), 6-3, 7-6 (4)
T. Janatova def. N. Bay Christians (UCF), 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
No. 70 M. Mattel (UCF) def. A. Vrbenska, 6-4, 6-3
K. Mize def. No. 41 R. Stolmar (UCF), 7-5, 6-4
N. Sharma (UCF) def. V. de Samucewicz, 6-2, 6-3
S. Machalova/A. Bortles def. N. Bay Christians/E. Levashova (UCF), 6-4
No. 7 R. Stolmar/M. Mattel (UCF) def. A. Vrbenska/T. Janatova, 6-4
No. 29 V. Zeleva/K. Kuznetsova (UCF) def. K. Mize/G.A. Jones, 6-3
UP NEXT
Ole Miss begins conference action, traveling to Fayetteville, Arkansas to take on the Razorbacks Friday, Feb. 28.
_____________________________________________________________
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.
The win is the first Top 15 road upset for Ole Miss since January 2018, when they took down No. 15 Oklahoma State 4-1 to qualify for National Indoors. The Knights had won five straight matches against SEC teams prior to Friday, and drop to 6-3 on the season.
After falling behind in the doubles point, things looked grim for the Rebs, who fell behind 3-1 after wins on Courts 4 and 6. Knotted up at 3-3, all eyes turned to veteran Tereza Janatova, who powered back after dropping six straight games to triumph in a third-set tiebreak, 7-5, after winning deuce point to force the break.
Janatova had to rally, falling in her opening set also via tiebreak, but controlled the second set, winning 6-3 to force a third. She continued to carry the upper hand, winning the first five games of the finale before UCF's Nadja Bay Christians fought back to keep the Knights' hopes alive. Janatova carries a perfect record in dual matches, and has won nine straight contests.
Ole Miss got on the board via freshman Kelsey Mize, who earned the first ranked win of her career with a 7-5, 6-4 decision over a Top 50 player in Rebeka Stolmar (No. 41).
Senior Alexa Bortles followed Mize, registering her first ranked victory of the year after taking down Valeriya Zeleva, No. 64 in the latest ITA rankings, on a second-set break 7-4.
Junior Sabina Machalova set up Janatova for the clinch, winning the first five games of her third set to cruise to victory, 6-1.
AT THE NET WITH… HEAD COACH MARK BEYERS
"This was one of the most amazing college tennis matches I have ever been a part of. There were so many momentum changes and both teams had opportunities to win. I'm incredibly proud of this group. UCF is an amazingly talented team, and to beat them at their place is no small feat."
RESULTS
OLE MISS 4, UCF 3
No. 53 S. Machalova def. E. Levashova (UCF), 6-3, 5-7, 6-1
A. Bortles def. No. 64 V. Zeleva (UCF), 6-3, 7-6 (4)
T. Janatova def. N. Bay Christians (UCF), 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
No. 70 M. Mattel (UCF) def. A. Vrbenska, 6-4, 6-3
K. Mize def. No. 41 R. Stolmar (UCF), 7-5, 6-4
N. Sharma (UCF) def. V. de Samucewicz, 6-2, 6-3
S. Machalova/A. Bortles def. N. Bay Christians/E. Levashova (UCF), 6-4
No. 7 R. Stolmar/M. Mattel (UCF) def. A. Vrbenska/T. Janatova, 6-4
No. 29 V. Zeleva/K. Kuznetsova (UCF) def. K. Mize/G.A. Jones, 6-3
UP NEXT
Ole Miss begins conference action, traveling to Fayetteville, Arkansas to take on the Razorbacks Friday, Feb. 28.
_____________________________________________________________
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.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
#1 Singles Match
123
656
Evgeniya Levashova / 0 [UCF]
371
#2 Singles Match
12
67
Valeriya Zeleva / 0 (64/-) [UCF]
36
#3 Singles Match
123
667
Nadja Bay Christians / 0 [UCF]
736
#4 Singles Match
12
43
Marie Mattel / 0 (70/-) [UCF]
66
#5 Singles Match
12
76
Rebeka Stolmar / 0 (41/-) [UCF]
54
#6 Singles Match
12
23
Nandini Sharma / 0 [UCF]
66
Order of Finish:
6,4,5,2,1,3
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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