“They’ve figured out a way to win,” head coach Mark Beyers said after the Ole Miss women’s tennis team defeated Mississippi State in their final conference game of the season last Friday.
Ole Miss, who defeated Mississippi State 4-1, hopes to continue this winning streak as they head into the post-season Southeastern Conference Tournament on Thursday in Knoxville, Tennessee.
This victory against their rival Bulldogs added to their season wins, contributing to their overall conference record of 9-4 and earning them the No. 5 seed in the tournament. This marks the first time since 2015 that they’ve gone into the tournament ranked in the top ten.
The Rebels’ seven-match winning streak has impressed coach Beyers.
“In this league, I don’t care who you are or what you are ranked, that’s an impressive feat,” Byers said court-side after the Mississippi State match, according to the Ole Miss Sports website. “Of those seven, five were on the road. It shows how hard our ladies have worked and battled against some hostile crowds and tough teams.”
UPDATE: Senior Natalie Suk can speak to this when she looks back to playing Mississippi State and the rowdy crowds the team encountered there.
“The Mississippi State crowd was loud at times, especially in the doubles and the end of the singles,” Suk said. “Every team in the SEC is tough and loud in a way, and Mississippi State was no different.”
The Rebels are determined to continue this battle against SEC teams this weekend, according to junior Allie Sanford.
“We can expect the competition to be very high on every single court, and I think we all have done extremely well in the close matches,” Samford said. “I think we also have a lot of confidence going into the SEC tournament. After our win against Georgia, and our No. 6 national ranking came out, I think we all really believe we belong at the top.”
The team has done a complete transformation from last year’s season when they ended with a conference record of 3-10 and lost to Kentucky in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
The Ole Miss Rebels will take on the winner of the No. 12 Tennessee/No. 13 Alabama match, which will take place on Thursday at 5 p.m. CDT. Ole Miss defeated both of these teams in regular season matches, winning 4-2 against Alabama and 4-0 against Tennessee.
Although the Rebels came out on top against these very teams in regular season play, it is always a challenge seeing them again, according Sanford and Suk.
“At this level you can never underestimate any team or player,” Sanford said. “I think we all understand that how we did against certain teams in season really means nothing once we show up on match day.”
UPDATE: The thought process really is that we have beaten a lot of the teams and to just try and do it again,” Suk said. “It’s important for us to build on our success.”
After the SEC tournament, the Rebels will have the chance to compete in the NCAA tournament, as well.
“I think we all are really determined to go all the way this season,” Sanford said. “This team has so much passion and fight, and we all believe in one another so much. We are just going to continue doing what we are doing, and represent the Ole Miss Rebels the best we can.”
UPDATE: As for Suk, a graduating senior, she hopes she has left her mark on the tennis program.
“I have had great 4 years at Ole Miss and graduating with us being ranked Top Ten in the nation is just a bonus,” Suk said. “I think the years I have been here, we have had success, especially this year, and that is great for the program.”
Maggie Crouch 
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