OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss women’s tennis hosts Mississippi State on Saturday, March 2nd, at 1 p.m. Following the match, the Rebels will face Eastern Illinois at 5 p.m. CT.
The public can access live scoring and live video for both matches. Links to both can be found above and on the Ole Miss women’s tennis schedule page.
THE REBELS
Briana Crowley (Sr.) – Battle Ground, Ind.
– Started the season 6-1 in dual-singles
– Joins the Rebels after three seasons at Northwestern
– Compiled a career singles record of 43-28 and a doubles record of 54-34
– Former Blue Chip five-star recruit
Lucie Devier (Sr.) – Etrechy, France
– A fall doubles record of 8-4
– Earned first singles win as a Rebel at the Roberta Alison Invitational
– Returns to Ole Miss after missing all last season
– Transferred from North Texas in 2022
– Earned 2021 C-USA Newcomer of the Year
Ava Hrastar (Sr.) – Duluth, Ga.
– Ranked as high as No. 6 in doubles and No. 65 in singles
– Two-time NCAA Doubles Championship qualifier
– 2022 All-American and All-ACC Third Team honors
– Former five-star recruit, ranked 1st out of Georgia and 18th nationally
Ludmila Kareisová (Jr.) – Liberec, Czechia
– Entered the year ranked No. 42 in singles
– 2023 NCAA Singles Championships qualifier
– Named 2023 All-SEC Second Team
Emma Kette (So.) – Rammelsbach, Germany
– Undefeated on the season in dual singles
– Finished 2023 with a 12-10 singles record and 11-9 doubles record
– Appeared in all 24 matches in the spring
Rachel Krzyzak (Jr.) – Milton, Ontario, Canada
– Tallied a 13-6 record on the season
– Career singles record of 38-30 and a doubles record of 23-35
Anaelle Leclercq-Ficher (Jr.) – La Perche, France
– Earned first doubles win of the year against Tulsa
– Compiled 18 career singles wins and 27 career doubles victories
Kelsey Mize (Sr.) – Tulsa, Okla.
– Kelsey Mize scores tenth doubles win of the season against Purdue
– Clinched the doubles point in both matches during the opening weekend
– Finished 2023 ranked No. 78 in doubles
– Accomplished 50 doubles wins and is top 30 in program history
Andrea Nova (Fr.) – Prague, Czechia
– Third straight Rebel freshman to win doubles and singles in her first match
– Joined by Mize, clinched doubles point in both opening weekend matches
– Comes to Ole Miss ranked as high as No. 298 in the ITF Junior Rankings
Reka Zadori (Sr.) – Szeged, Hungary
– Sits in 30th place on the Ole Miss all-time career singles wins list with 56
– Has a 56-44 career singles record and a 27-22 career doubles record
– Her 9-3 record at No. 6 singles was the best in the SEC in 2023
LAST TIME ON THE COURT
– Mize and Nova secure doubles point with a 6-4 win
– Crowley defeats Borland in straight sets of 6-3, 6-3
– Nova earned a win on Court 6 after a third-set super tiebreak
MILESTONE MARKER
– Mize accomplished 50 doubles wins in her career
– Mize entered the top 30 in program history for doubles wins
– Nova earned her 10th overall singles victory of her career
– Krzyzak is two total singles wins from 40 in her career
– Zadori is five singles wins from 60 and tied for 27th in program history
– Zadori is three doubles wins away from 30 in her career
HEAD COACH MARK BEYERS
– Beyers is in his 23rd year coaching the Ole Miss women’s tennis team
– He has compiled a 286-245 record with Ole Miss and a 336-253 career record
– Earned ITA South Region Coach of the Year in 2010, 2012, and 2018
– Led the team to seven NCAA Second Round appearances and one Sweet 16 appearance
– Coached the only Ole Miss NCAA Singles Champion, Arianne Hartono, eight All-Americans and 36 All-SEC players
OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE NET
Mississippi State
The Bulldogs have a strong roster this year, with an overall 9-3 record. Alexandra Mikhailuk is a front-runner with a compiled 9-1 dual singles record. Mikhailuk is 6-0 on court three and in the No. 2 slot 3-0. Making a name for herself, freshman Jayna Clemens is sitting at the bottom of the lineup with a 6-1 dual singles record on the season. Swinging over to the doubles side of things, Mikhailuk and Athina Pitta pose a 1-0 record in the No. 1 slot.
Eastern Illinois
With a reasonably young roster, the Panthers look to build their campaign. The team comprises first- through third-year students, with Brown being the only senior. Senior Addison Brown and Sophomore Jemma Booth are a competitive duo in the double realm, with a 2-3 dual doubles record on court one.
RANKED PLAYERS
Team
No. 42 – Ole Miss
JUST THE BEGINNING
Ole Miss landed in the ITA Team Ranking for the first time in the 2023-24 campaign after defeating now ranked No. 40 Baylor, 4-1. It is the highest ranking for the women’s team in two years when the program ranked No. 34.
In the current standings, the Rebels have competed against four top-75 teams in their first six dual matches. In the four matchups, the Navy and Red took down No. 40 Baylor at home and No. 55 Purdue on the road. The team battled against No. 38 Memphis and No. 24 Illinois away from Oxford.
BOTTOMS UP
The third to sixth position is a combined 18-7 for the Rebels in dual singles. Crowley, the fifth-year senior, leads the way with a 6-1 record at the third spot. In addition, four different Rebels at the No. 5 and No. 6 singles positions are getting it down. Kette is 3-0, two at the fifth spot, and Zadori is 2-1, winning one at each bottom position. Krzyzak and Nova have also contributed to Ole Miss’ strong start to dual action.
SOPHOMORE CAMPAIGN
Kette is off to a great start after a 12-7 freshman campaign in dual singles matches. The Germany native won all three of her singles matches of the season against Belmont, Purdue, and Baylor at the bottom of the lineup. In her third appearance at Illinois, the sophomore won the first set 6-1 before it went unfinished in the second set. Kette kept the momentum rolling against Baylor, defeating her opponent 6-4, 6-3. As the Rebels head to the Big Easy, Kette hopes to uphold her undefeated campaign.
CROWLEY INTO THE SCENE
Crowley has dominated her competition, earning her sixth win in seven dual singles matches as a Rebel at No. 3 singles. She was the first match to finish in the first two matches, defeating Tulsa’s Hutchings and Memphis’ Woog. Against Belmont, the Battleground, Indiana native took down Zholdakova in straight sets, both by a score of 6-3. Crowley tallied two more wins to her name after a 6-4, 6-0 win against Purdue and a 6-3, 6-2 win against Baylor.
WEEKLY HONORS
Player of the Week:
Loudmilla Bencheujh- Alabama
Freshman of the Week
Priya Nelson- Alabama
TEAM PROMOTION: T-SHIRT & KOOZIE GIVEAWAY
Support the Rebels on Saturday for a chance to get a T-shirt and koozie!
FOLLOW THE REBELS ON SOCIAL
For more information on Ole Miss Women’s Tennis, follow the Rebels on X at @OleMissWTennis, on Facebook at OleMissWTennis and on Instagram at OleMissWTennis. Also follow Coach Beyers on Twitter, @MarkBeyers.