The University of Mississippi Athletics

Owen Wilkinson

Women's Tennis Set to Compete in the ITA Southern Regionals

10/12/2025 | Women's Tennis

Auburn, Ala. – Ole Miss women's tennis team travels to Auburn, Alabama, For the ITA Southern Regional Championships from Oct. 13–17. 
 
The weeklong tournament will take place at the Yarbrough Indoor Tennis Center, and Auburn University Recreation outdoor courts. Ole Miss will face a field consisting of 18 schools, with all of them being from the states of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. Five of the schools are in the Southeastern Conference. 
 
The tournament opens up with doubles play on Monday, Rebels Ichino Horikawa and Alicé Soulie will play Cristina Tchanichev and Jade MarieofSouth Alabama in the Round of 64. Brooklyn Olson and Riley Crowder will also play on Monday, as they will face Emma Ansorge and Farah Assad of North Alabama in the Round of 64. 
 
Emily Welker and Andrea Nova will also compete in doubles. The pair will have a bye in the Round of 64 and will await their first opponent in the Round of 32. 
 
In the singles draw, five Rebels will compete in the round of 64. Crowder will play Aleia Marginean of LSU. Olson will play Sofia Sotelo Raya from Alabama A&M. Horikawa will play Irene Artigas Taberner of Jacksonville State. Soulie will play Leena Metwally fo Troy. Nova will play Mia Robinson of Mississippi State. 
 
Also competing in singles play, Emily Welker will have a bye in the Round of 64. She will face off against Natalie Outcalt in the Round of 32. 
 
Results from the tournament will be posted to the official ITA website. Link to the website is attached above. 
 
THE REBELS                     

Riley Crowder(Fr.) – Dothan, Alabama 
- No. 1 recruit out of Alabama in 2025 class 
- Won the Blue Gray Classic's Gray Draw Championship in Sep. 2025 alongside Emily Welker 
- 2022 USTA Alabama State Junior and Southern Junior Player of the Year 
- Ranked as high No. 167 in the ITF World Junior circuit 
 
Ichino Horikawa(Sr.) – Kyoto, Japan 
- Posted a career-high ITF Junior ranking of No. 173 
- Compiled a 21-18 singles record in the junior circuit 
 
Emma Kette (Sr.) – Rammelsbach, Germany 
- 37-31 singles record and 21-16 doubles record over her career 
- Defeated No. 122 Talia Neilson (Florida) at the 2024 ITA Sectionals 
- Reached the quarterfinal round in doubles and the Sweet 16 in singles at the 2024 ITA Southern Regional 
 
Andrea Nova (Jr.) – Prague, Czechia 
- Went 13-12 in singles and 12-14 in doubles during her sophomore campaign 
- Helped the Rebels reach the 2025 NCAA Tournament  
- Shifted between the fourth, fifth and sixth court in 2025 
 
Brooklyn Olson (So.) – Kansas City, Kansas 
- Went 5-5 in singles, including a 4-0 dual record, and 13-17 overall doubles record  
- Blue Chip five-star recruit 
- Reached Sweet 16 of the Les Petits As Junior Tournament in 2020 
 
Alice Soulié (So.) – Angers, France 
- Paced the team in dual victories with 12, also adding nine wins in doubles 
- Nine of her wins came against conference opponents, also tops for the team 
- Clinched the match-winning point against No. 13 Texas to give Ole Miss its biggest upset of the 2024-25 season 
- The Soulié/Welker duo defeated Georgia's then-No. 75 tandem of Aysegul Mert and Hayden Mulberry 
 
Emily Welker (Gr.) – Limbach-Oberfrohna, Saxony, Germany 
- Ranked No. 67 in ITA singles preseason rankings for the 2025-26 season 
- Won the Blue Gray Classic's Gray Draw Championship in Sep. 2025 alongside Riley Crowder 2025  
- Had two wins against nationally ranked opponents, including Florida's No. 27 Rachel Gailis 
- Played mostly on court one in singles, claiming four wins 
 
Owen Wilkinson (Fr.) – Oxford, Mississippi 
- Top-ranked recruit in her class out of Mississippi, according to Tennis Recruiting Network 
- Won two consecutive MHSAA Class 6A state titles in girls' singles in 2022 and 2023  
 
THE FIELD  
Auburn 
Jacksonville State 
LSU  
North Alabama 
Mississippi State 
Alabama 
Ole Miss 
Louisiana Tech 
Troy 
Tulane 
Louisiana 
McNeese State 
Alabama A&M 
Samford 
Southern Miss 
Alabama State 
South Alabama 
UAB 
 
ITA RANKED OPPONENTS  
Singles: 

6 – Carolina Kuhl, LSU 
13 – Eva Ionescu, Auburn 
67 – Emily Welker, Ole Miss 
 
Doubles: 

3 – DJ Bennett, Ashton Bowers, Auburn 
6 – Cadence Brace, Kayla Cross, LSU 
8 – Angella Okutoyi, Mema Refaat, Auburn 
28 – Ekaterina Khayrutdinova, Ava Esposito, Auburn 
54 – Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz, Chiara Di Genova, Mississippi State 
77 – Alexia Marginean, Ioana Sava, LSU 
80 – Gianna Oboniye Athina Pitta, Mississippi State 
 
RETURNING REBELS 
After graduating four seniors from the previous year's team, all five remaining players will remain at Ole Miss for the 2025-26 campaign. This season marks Emma Kette's fourth year with the program, as well as Andrea Nova's third year. Among those returning from last season, Nova leads with 13 wins this past spring. Emily Welker started a majority of matches at court 1 for the Rebels in 2025. Alice Soulié led the team with nine conference wins this past season.  
 
FRESH FACES 

The Rebels brought in three freshmen this offseason to round out the remainder of the roster. Riley Crowder joins the team as the No. 1 recruit coming out of Alabama this past recruiting cycle. Additionally, Owen Wilkinson will come in as the No. 1 recruit coming out of Mississippi, boasting two MHSAA Class 6A titles in girls' singles at nearby Oxford High School.  Ichino Horikawa comes to Ole Miss by way of Japan after posting a career-high ITF Junior ranking of No. 173.  
 
REMAINING FALL SCHEDULE 

ITA Regionals – Oct. 13-17 – Auburn, Ala. 
ITF W 15 – Oct. 26- Nov. 2 – Sumter, S.C. 
Roberta Alison Fall Classic – Oct. 31-Nov. 1 – Tuscaloosa, Ala. 
ITA Sectionals – Nov. 6-9 – Baton Rouge, La. 
Vanderbilt Invite – Nov. 6-9 – Nashville, Tenn. 
ITF W 15 – Nov. 10-16 – Clemson, S.C. 
 
REBS ON SOCIAL 

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 Roberts on Twitter, @gdrob91
 

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