The University of Mississippi Athletics
Sunday, March 8
Oxford, Miss.
1 pm
Ole Miss
3
vs
4
Tennessee
Rebels Edged 4-3 Sunday Against Tennessee
3/8/2020 | Women's Tennis
Senior Anna Vrbenska wins third straight, picks up 10th win of the spring
OXFORD, Miss. – No. 26 Ole Miss Women's Tennis was edged by conference foe Tennessee 4-3 Sunday at Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center. The Rebels slip to 9-4 on the season and 1-2 in SEC action, while the Volunteers improve to 10-3 and pick up their first win in league play.
Senior Anna Vrbenska picked up her third consecutive win, extending her impressive streak in SEC contests, having suffered just five league losses in three and a half seasons. Vrbenska now boasts a 10-2 record this spring, and is 8-1 in her last 10 contests. Her win Sunday was her first ranked victory of the year as she took down the Volunteers' Carly Briggs, ranked No. 103.
As has been the case over five times this season, the doubles point came down to Vrbenska and classmate Tereza Janatova on Court 2. The No. 53 ranked duo of senior Alexa Bortles and junior Sabina Machalova set them up, picking up an impressive 6-2 victory over the 13th-ranked Volunteers pairing. The win for Bortles and Machalova is their second over a ranked duo this spring.
Vrbenska and Janatova, carrying a No. 72 ranking themselves, picked up the final three games to clinch the point for the Rebs and send them into singles with the advantage.
Bortles extended the Ole Miss lead, picking her third consecutive ranked victory in as many chances as she cruised through her second set, winning the first five games and taking the match 6-3, 6-1.
Vrbenska followed suit, winning eight games in a row through her two sets to set up the Rebels with a 3-0 lead.
After Tennessee cracked onto the board via a win on Court 6 and narrowed the gap with another win on Court 5, it came down to battles on the first two courts for Ole Miss, with both Machalova and Janatova looking to force third sets.
After Machalova was outlasted 3-6, 6-4, 3-6 to even the contest at 3-3, all eyes turned to Janatova, who had just emerged through her extra-game second set victoriously 7-5 to head into the third. The two battled, tied at 4-4.
Her opponent, No. 59 Johanna Silva took the momentum with a 5-4 lead, but Janatova continued to battle, bringing things to deuce point in the sixth game before ultimately falling.
RESULTS
No. 43 R. Mertena (TENN) def. No. 50 S. Machalova, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
No. 59 J. Silva (TENN) def. T. Janatova, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4
A. Vrbenska def. No. 103 C. Briggs (TENN), 6-3, 6-2
A. Bortles def. No. 72 K. Staines (TENN), 6-3, 6-1
H. Doyle (TENN) def. No. 124 K. Mize, 6-3, 6-4
T. McGuffin (TENN) def. V. de Samucewicz, 6-2, 6-4
No. 53 S. Machalova/A. Bortles def. No. 13 T. McGiffin/K. Staines (TENN), 6-2
No. 72 T. Janatova/A. Vrbenska def. R. Martena/J. Silva (TENN), 6-3
C. Briggs/A. Riley (TENN) def. K. Mize/G.A. Jones, 6-2
UP NEXT
Ole Miss will return to the road, traveling to Baton Rouge to face LSU before going west to face Texas A&M in College Station next weekend.
_____________________________________________________________
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.
Senior Anna Vrbenska picked up her third consecutive win, extending her impressive streak in SEC contests, having suffered just five league losses in three and a half seasons. Vrbenska now boasts a 10-2 record this spring, and is 8-1 in her last 10 contests. Her win Sunday was her first ranked victory of the year as she took down the Volunteers' Carly Briggs, ranked No. 103.
As has been the case over five times this season, the doubles point came down to Vrbenska and classmate Tereza Janatova on Court 2. The No. 53 ranked duo of senior Alexa Bortles and junior Sabina Machalova set them up, picking up an impressive 6-2 victory over the 13th-ranked Volunteers pairing. The win for Bortles and Machalova is their second over a ranked duo this spring.
Vrbenska and Janatova, carrying a No. 72 ranking themselves, picked up the final three games to clinch the point for the Rebs and send them into singles with the advantage.
Bortles extended the Ole Miss lead, picking her third consecutive ranked victory in as many chances as she cruised through her second set, winning the first five games and taking the match 6-3, 6-1.
Vrbenska followed suit, winning eight games in a row through her two sets to set up the Rebels with a 3-0 lead.
After Tennessee cracked onto the board via a win on Court 6 and narrowed the gap with another win on Court 5, it came down to battles on the first two courts for Ole Miss, with both Machalova and Janatova looking to force third sets.
After Machalova was outlasted 3-6, 6-4, 3-6 to even the contest at 3-3, all eyes turned to Janatova, who had just emerged through her extra-game second set victoriously 7-5 to head into the third. The two battled, tied at 4-4.
Her opponent, No. 59 Johanna Silva took the momentum with a 5-4 lead, but Janatova continued to battle, bringing things to deuce point in the sixth game before ultimately falling.
RESULTS
No. 43 R. Mertena (TENN) def. No. 50 S. Machalova, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
No. 59 J. Silva (TENN) def. T. Janatova, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4
A. Vrbenska def. No. 103 C. Briggs (TENN), 6-3, 6-2
A. Bortles def. No. 72 K. Staines (TENN), 6-3, 6-1
H. Doyle (TENN) def. No. 124 K. Mize, 6-3, 6-4
T. McGuffin (TENN) def. V. de Samucewicz, 6-2, 6-4
No. 53 S. Machalova/A. Bortles def. No. 13 T. McGiffin/K. Staines (TENN), 6-2
No. 72 T. Janatova/A. Vrbenska def. R. Martena/J. Silva (TENN), 6-3
C. Briggs/A. Riley (TENN) def. K. Mize/G.A. Jones, 6-2
UP NEXT
Ole Miss will return to the road, traveling to Baton Rouge to face LSU before going west to face Texas A&M in College Station next weekend.
_____________________________________________________________
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:
1,3,2
#1 Singles Match
123
Rebeka Mertena / 0 (43/-) [UT]
646
363
#2 Singles Match
123
Johanna Silva / 0 (59/-) [UT]
756
574
#3 Singles Match
12
Carly Briggs / 0 (103/-) [UT]
32
66
#4 Singles Match
12
Kaitlin Staines / 0 (72/-) [UT]
31
66
#5 Singles Match
12
Hadley Doyle / 0 [UT]
66
34
#6 Singles Match
12
Tenika McGiffin / 0 [UT]
66
24
Order of Finish:
4,3,5,6,1,2
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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