Arianne Hartono serves the ball in Sunday’s match against William & Mary. PHOTO BY: JASON ZHANG
Ole Miss 6, Tulane 1
The 24th-ranked Ole Miss women’s tennis team defeated Tulane 6-1 Friday afternoon at the Gillom Sports Center. It was the first loss of the season for Tulane, 7-1, while the Rebels improved to 7-1.
“We jumped out to some quick leads and never really gave them a chance to get into the match,” Ole Miss head coach Mark Beyers said. “It was good tennis. We never really gave them any hope.”
At No. 2 doubles, senior Julia Jones and freshman Natalie Suk swept Tulane freshmen Vanessa Nommensen and senior Nicky Stracar 6-0. At No. 3 doubles, freshman Arianne Hartono and junior Mai El Kamash defeated juniors Ipek Birol and Jacqui Katz of Tulane 6-1, giving the Rebels the opening point.
At No. 1 singles, Jones came into the match 7th in the country in the latest ITA rankings. She won handily, as she didn’t drop a set in a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Stracar.
“I was really happy with how I played,” Jones said. “I think my serve was definitely on today, which really helped me.”
At No. 2 singles, Hartono beat Birol 6-0, 6-1. At No. 3 singles, El Kamash defeated Nommensen 6-3, 6-3, clinching the win for the Rebels.
Suk defeated Green Wave freshman Naz Karagoz 6-0, 6-2 at No. 4 singles.
Ssenior Erin Stephens lost the first set 4-6, then rallied to win the second set 6-1 and the tiebreaker 10-1 at the fifth singles match.
Finally, at No. 6 singles, Verboven fell to Tulane junior Meredith Maltby. She dropped the first set 3-6, then came back to win the second set 6-0, but lost the tiebreaker 12-10.
Ole Miss 5, William & Mary 2
Ole Miss completed the weekend sweep with a 5-2 victory Sunday afternoon over the William & Mary Tribe. The Rebels improved to 8-1 with the win, while the Tribe fell to 5-2.
“This was a battle,” Ole Miss head coach Mark Beyers said. “At 5-2, it looks like it was routine, but it wasn’t. This was a dog-fight.”
At No. 2 doubles, senior Julia Jones and freshman Natalie Suk defeated Tribe sophomore Melanie Roy and junior Julia Casselbury 6-1. At no. 3 doubles, freshman Arianne Hartono and junior Mai El Kamash also won 6-1 over Tribe freshmen Olivia Thaler and Maria Groener, clinching the opening point for the Rebels.
Seventh ranked Jones was upset by William & Mary junior Leeza Nemchinov 4-6, 6-7.
Against Tribe senior Jeltje Loomans, Hartono lost the first set 6-7 and fell behind in the second set 2-5. Hartono then stormed back to win the set 7-5 and sweep the third set 6-0, winning 11 straight games in the process.
“I got a chance to turn it around, and that’s what happened,” Hartono said. “I really stayed focused on staying in the rally. I played every point as if it was the last point.”
El Kamash won easily over Roy 6-2, 6-0 at No. 3 singles.
At No. 4 singles, Suk fell to Thaler 4-6, 6-4, 1-6.
At No. 5 singles, senior Erin Stephens held a 4-0 lead in the first set, and staved off a rally from Groener to win the set 7-5. She then won the second set 6-3 to secure the win for the Rebels.
Finally, at No. 6 singles, sophomore Zalina Khairudinova won in straight sets over Tribe freshman Cecily Wuenscher 6-4, 6-1.
The Rebels are back in action against Lipscomb Friday at noon.
