The University of Mississippi Athletics

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.