On This Date: Women's Tennis Earns First-Ever Top 5 Ranking

On this date in Ole Miss Athletics history (May 4), the Ole Miss women's tennis team, having just captured the SEC Tournament Championship a week before, cracked into the Top 5 of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Rankings. It was the first time ever the Lady Rebels had earned such a distinction. At the time, their 21-4 record equaled the most wins in program history, and their 12-2 clip in SEC action was also a program best. The 21 wins mark by the squad is still a program best prior to NCAA play. The team was led by a pair of three-time All-Americans in Agnes Muzamel and Courtenay Chapman. Muzamel would go on to become the program's second four-time All-American. The full release from the historic day can be found below.

May 4, 1999
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss women's tennis team made history Tuesday, achieving its first ever top five ranking coming in at No. 5 in the latest edition of the ITA Collegiate Rankings. The latest rankings are based on results through April 26.

Ole Miss moved up three spots from No. 8 after defeating No. 3 Georgia and No. 1 Florida to capture the SEC Tournament Championship a week ago. The Lady Rebels, 21-4 overall, have equaled the most wins in the history of the program and also posted their best finish in conference play with a 12-2 record.

"I am really proud of my players and the hard work that they've done for us to achieve our highest national ranking ever," head coach Jerry Montgomery said. "It is very important for us not to focus on how good we are, but to remember where we were and how we've gotten to this point. We have a lot to do to get ready for the NCAA regionals and I have confidence that this team will take that challenge seriously."

There are currently three teams from the SEC in the top five with Florida and Georgia. Stanford, Duke, California, UCLA, Pepperdine, Texas, and Southern California round out the teams in the top 10. A total of eight teams from the SEC are ranked in the top 20 including Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas and Kentucky.

In singles, senior Agnes Muzamel held onto the No. 4 spot with a 24-12 overall record, 15-8 at No. 1 singles. She notched her 120th career victory against Florida's Whitney Laiho in the SEC Tournament final.

Celeste Frey dropped a couple spots to No. 23 with a 34-17 overall record, 12-8 at No. 2 singles. Ivona Mihailova moved up to No. 28 with a 27-6 overall record, 19-1 at No. 3 singles. She defeated then 17th-ranked Stephanie Hazlett of Florida in the SEC Tournament final.

In doubles, Frey and Mariana Eberle are ranked No. 12, while Muzamel and Courtenay Chapman are ranked No. 18. Muzamel and Chapman posted an 8-1 record at No. 2 doubles in SEC play.

The Lady Rebels will find out Wednesday the pairings and sites for the NCAA Championships. They have an excellent chance of hosting one of the 16 regionals that will be played May 14-16.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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