Zalina Khairudinova returns a serve during match against Texas A&M. Rebels win 4-1 Sunday. (Courtesy of Josh MCcoy)
On a clear Friday afternoon, the Lady Rebels took on the No.19 LSU Tigers after a tough stretch of losses that took them out of the NCAA top 25.
The weather conditions were perfect for tennis, with a light breeze and sunny sky, and the team took advantage of it.
Coach Mark Beyers made the decision to change the doubles line up for the match, and it paid dividends.
With early breaks on doubles courts two and three, the momentum started off in the Rebels’ favor.
Ole Miss’ No. 2 doubles team of Natalie Suk and Anna Vrbenska kept its momentum, quickly defeating the Tigers’ doubles team of Jade Lewis and Becca Weissmann by a score of 6-2.
It looked like court three would be the deciding court for the doubles point.
That seemed the case until the No. 1 doubles team, powered by the hard-hitting forehand of Arianne Hartono and big serve of Alexa Bortles, fought back from a 2-5 score line and won 7-5. They defeated the 20th-ranked Joana Valle Costa and Ryann Foster with a perfectly placed volley winner by Bortles to clinch the doubles point.
Singles play began soon after, and the Lady Rebels continued to look impressive. All of the matches progressed into nail biters, except for one. On court one, Hartono defeated LSU’s Lewis with ease, showing a final score of 6-1 and 6-1, putting the team up 2-0.
“I played free and had no worries on my mind,” Hartono said. “I wanted to add value to the team with a win. I took advantage of my opponent’s low energy.”
The defensive play of Ole Miss’ Tea Jandric defeated Weissmann 6-3 and 6-4 on the No. 5 singles court to bring the overall match up to 3-0.
After a tough first set, Ole Miss senior Zalina Khairudinova called on her experience and determination to battle back into the match, bringing up a third set with multiple match points.
Before Khairudinova could finish off her opponent, however, Anna Vrbenska clinched the 4-0 victory by defeating LSU’s Jessica Golovin 7-5, 4-6 and 6-2 on court four.
Beyers’ day got even better as he picked up his 250th career win and 200th win coaching for the University of Mississippi after defeating LSU.
“Every team in the SEC is good. We trusted ourselves, and we trusted our game,” Beyers said. “We can play with anybody, and the girls know that they can play at this level. I was proud of them.”
The Rebels failed to keep the momentum from their victory over LSU going and fell to No. 25 Texas A&M in a close doubles point Sunday afternoon.
Next up, the Rebels will be on the road facing No. 1 Florida and No. 13 South Carolina this weekend.
