By Ole Miss Sports

Ole Miss women’s tennis and head coach Mark Beyers signed three athletes to its program on National Signing Day.

The three Rebels are set to join the program next season.

Allie Bittner joins Ole Miss from Greer, South Carolina. Bittner competed for Grandview Preparatory School under coach Bucky Adams, where she reached a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 137 earlier this year. She’s won two singles and three doubles titles.

Bittner holds a 19.4 world tennis number in singles and 21.8 in doubles. She’s accumulated over 50 wins in junior competition with an ITF combined ranking of 1226 in that span.

“Very excited to add Allie to the squad,” Beyers said. “She was someone we targeted very early in the recruiting process. She’s a fighter and will help this team both in singles and doubles.”

Ichino Horikawa bolsters a career-high ITF ranking No. 173 out of Kyoto, Japan. She holds a 59-42 record in junior competition and possesses vast international experience. Most recently, Horikawa competed at the J300 Wanju in Korea, where she reached the third round of competition.

Her strongest performance at an international tournament came at the J60 San Jose in Costa Rica, where she won four rounds on the way to the final match. Three of her wins were in straight sets.

“Ichino has played a lot of top-level junior tennis all around the world,” Beyers said. “Her experience will help us from day one. Ichino has a great work ethic and is an incredible team player.”

Oxford native Owen Wilkinson is staying close to home as a walk-on. Wilkinson competed at Oxford High School under Louis Nash. As a charger, Wilkinson won two-straight MHSAA Class 6A state title in girls’ singles in 2022 and 2023. She won those state titles as a freshman and sophomore.

She was the top-ranked recruit out of Mississippi, according to Tennis Recruiting Network, and in the top 75 of recruits in the southeast region. Wilkinson holds a world tennis number of 22.75 in singles and 22.97 in doubles.

“Having Owen join the Rebels is really special,” Beyers said. “Owen has watched us play since she was 6 years old. To see her now be part of this amazing program is so cool.”