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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Thursday, April 9
Knoxville, Tenn.
4 p.m.
Ole Miss
at
Tennessee
Women’s Tennis to Close Out the Regular Season on the Road
4/8/2026 | Women's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss women's tennis will play its last two regular-season matches at No. 19 Tennessee and Kentucky before entering postseason play.
The Rebels (13-9, 5-8 SEC) are riding a four-match win streak and will be pushing to finish their season strong. Highlights from last week's success include Riley Crowder winning the clinching court in Ole Miss' 4-3 victory over No. 51 Mississippi State, and the Rebels sweeping of No. 44 Alabama, 4-0.
The Rebels will face the Volunteers (11-8, 6-7 SEC) at the Dr. Robert L. Barksdale Tennis Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Thursday, April 9, at 4 p.m.
In nonconference play, Tennessee earned a berth to the ITA Indoor National Championships, where they would go 2-1, including wins against No. 15 Virginia and No. 8 Oklahoma State.
Their performance in conference play has been highlighted by their 4-2 win at No. 7 Texas, but otherwise has profiled toward the middle of the conference. Additionally, the Volunteers have four ranked singles players along with three ranked doubles pairs.
For their final regular season match of the spring, the Rebels will head up to Lexington, Kentucky, next to take on the Wildcats (9-13, 1-12 SEC) at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex on Saturday, April 11, at 12 p.m.
Kentucky's biggest singles win of the season came when No. 73 Zoe Hammond defeated Texas's then No. 1 Carmen Herea, 6-3, 6-3. The Wildcats also have the 57th-ranked doubles pairing in Asuncion Jadue and Reese Sager.
Ole Miss has beaten Kentucky the past four times they have faced each other.
THE REBELS
Riley Crowder (Fr.) – Dothan, Alabama
- No. 1 recruit out of Alabama in 2025 class
- 2022 USTA Alabama State Junior and Southern Junior Player of the Year
- Ranked as high No. 167 in the ITF World Junior circuit
-Compiled a 6-3 record in singles and 5-4 record in doubles in the Fall of 2025
Ichino Horikawa (Sr.) – Kyoto, Japan
- Posted a career-high ITF Junior ranking of No. 173
- Secured the deciding match point in Ole Miss' upset of No.4 LSU
-Compiled a 7-6 record in singles and 7-6 record in doubles in the Fall of 2025
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
-Along with Welker, reached the round of 16 at the 2025 NCAA Doubles Championship
Brooklyn Olson (So.) – Kansas City, Kansas
- Went 4-0 in dual singles matches in 2025
- Overall singles record of 10-8
- Blue Chip five-star recruit
Alice Soulié (So.) – Angers, France
- Paced the team in dual victories with 12 in 2025, also adding nine wins in doubles
- Nine of her wins came against conference opponents in 2025, 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. 6 in ITA singles at the end of the 2025 Fall season
- Reached the NCAA Singles Championship Semifinals in 2025, defeating opponents ranked Nos. 106, 88, 45 and 26
-Along with Nova, reached the round of 16 at the 2025 NCAA Doubles Championship
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
Beatrice Stagno (Fr.) – Milan, Italy
-Career-high ITF Singles Ranking of 124
RANKINGS
Team:
No. 19 – Tennessee
No. 38 – Kentucky
Singles:
No. 18 – Emily Welker (Ole Miss)
No. 27 – Leyla Britez Risso (UT)
No. 29 – Katrina Scott (UT)
No. 73 – Zoe Hammond (UK)
No. 85 – Vanesa Suarez (UT)
No. 99 – Julia Zhu (UK)
No. 115 – Catherine Aulia (UT)
Doubles:
No. 13 – Andrea Nova and Emily Welker (Ole Miss)
No. 27 Catherine Aulia and Leyla Britez Risson (UT)
No. 32 – Francesca Mattioli and Vanesa Suarez (UT)
No. 51 – Francesca Mattioli and Maeve Thornton (UT)
No. 57 – Asuncion Jadue and Reese Sager (UK)
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.
FOLLOW THE REBELS 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.
The Rebels (13-9, 5-8 SEC) are riding a four-match win streak and will be pushing to finish their season strong. Highlights from last week's success include Riley Crowder winning the clinching court in Ole Miss' 4-3 victory over No. 51 Mississippi State, and the Rebels sweeping of No. 44 Alabama, 4-0.
The Rebels will face the Volunteers (11-8, 6-7 SEC) at the Dr. Robert L. Barksdale Tennis Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Thursday, April 9, at 4 p.m.
In nonconference play, Tennessee earned a berth to the ITA Indoor National Championships, where they would go 2-1, including wins against No. 15 Virginia and No. 8 Oklahoma State.
Their performance in conference play has been highlighted by their 4-2 win at No. 7 Texas, but otherwise has profiled toward the middle of the conference. Additionally, the Volunteers have four ranked singles players along with three ranked doubles pairs.
For their final regular season match of the spring, the Rebels will head up to Lexington, Kentucky, next to take on the Wildcats (9-13, 1-12 SEC) at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex on Saturday, April 11, at 12 p.m.
Kentucky's biggest singles win of the season came when No. 73 Zoe Hammond defeated Texas's then No. 1 Carmen Herea, 6-3, 6-3. The Wildcats also have the 57th-ranked doubles pairing in Asuncion Jadue and Reese Sager.
Ole Miss has beaten Kentucky the past four times they have faced each other.
THE REBELS
Riley Crowder (Fr.) – Dothan, Alabama
- No. 1 recruit out of Alabama in 2025 class
- 2022 USTA Alabama State Junior and Southern Junior Player of the Year
- Ranked as high No. 167 in the ITF World Junior circuit
-Compiled a 6-3 record in singles and 5-4 record in doubles in the Fall of 2025
Ichino Horikawa (Sr.) – Kyoto, Japan
- Posted a career-high ITF Junior ranking of No. 173
- Secured the deciding match point in Ole Miss' upset of No.4 LSU
-Compiled a 7-6 record in singles and 7-6 record in doubles in the Fall of 2025
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
-Along with Welker, reached the round of 16 at the 2025 NCAA Doubles Championship
Brooklyn Olson (So.) – Kansas City, Kansas
- Went 4-0 in dual singles matches in 2025
- Overall singles record of 10-8
- Blue Chip five-star recruit
Alice Soulié (So.) – Angers, France
- Paced the team in dual victories with 12 in 2025, also adding nine wins in doubles
- Nine of her wins came against conference opponents in 2025, 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. 6 in ITA singles at the end of the 2025 Fall season
- Reached the NCAA Singles Championship Semifinals in 2025, defeating opponents ranked Nos. 106, 88, 45 and 26
-Along with Nova, reached the round of 16 at the 2025 NCAA Doubles Championship
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
Beatrice Stagno (Fr.) – Milan, Italy
-Career-high ITF Singles Ranking of 124
RANKINGS
Team:
No. 19 – Tennessee
No. 38 – Kentucky
Singles:
No. 18 – Emily Welker (Ole Miss)
No. 27 – Leyla Britez Risso (UT)
No. 29 – Katrina Scott (UT)
No. 73 – Zoe Hammond (UK)
No. 85 – Vanesa Suarez (UT)
No. 99 – Julia Zhu (UK)
No. 115 – Catherine Aulia (UT)
Doubles:
No. 13 – Andrea Nova and Emily Welker (Ole Miss)
No. 27 Catherine Aulia and Leyla Britez Risson (UT)
No. 32 – Francesca Mattioli and Vanesa Suarez (UT)
No. 51 – Francesca Mattioli and Maeve Thornton (UT)
No. 57 – Asuncion Jadue and Reese Sager (UK)
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.
FOLLOW THE REBELS 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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