OXFORD, Miss. \u2013 Ole Miss women’s tennis to host two top ten foes from the Lone Star State this weekend, with the first match-up against No. 3 Texas A&M, followed up by No. 7 Texas.
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\nThe Rebels (9-7, 3-6 SEC) are coming off a week where they finished 2-1; they split their two SEC matches, losing on the road to No. 12 Vanderbilt before returning to Oxford to beat Missouri. Additionally, Ole Miss picked up a win in the second leg of a doubleheader on Saturday against Missouri State.
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\nThe Rebels’ next challenge will be against Texas A&M (16-3, 8-1 SEC) on Friday, March 27, at 3 p.m. at the Palmer\/Salloum Outdoor Tennis Center.
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\nThe Aggies have put out premier lineups all spring as they have put together an impressive resume. With a berth in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, falling short in the semifinals.
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\nTexas A&M began conference play by defeating its in-state rival, Texas, and its only SEC loss was sustained against No. 1 Georgia.
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\nTheir singles lineup is littered with talent, with four ranked players, including No. 2 Lucciana Perez.
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\nThe Longhorns (12-4, 7-2 SEC) will bring another array of top talent when they come to Oxford on Sunday, March 29, at 1 p.m.
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\nTexas has shown itself to be a scary match-up for any team in the country. They went 2-1 at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship while playing other top programs.<\/p>\n
In SEC play, although they fell to No. 5 Texas A&M and most recently No.18 Tennessee, they are one of only two teams to have taken down No. 1 Georgia in conference play. Ichino Horikawa<\/a> (Sr.) \u2013 Kyoto, Japan Andrea Nova<\/a><\/a>\u202f(Jr.) \u2013 Prague, Czechia Brooklyn Olson<\/a> (So.) \u2013 Kansas City, Kansas Alice Souli\u00e9\u202f<\/a> (So.) \u2013 Angers, France Emily Welker<\/a><\/a>\u00a0(Gr.) \u2013\u202fLimbach-Oberfrohna, Saxony, Germany Owen Wilkinson<\/a> (Fr.) \u2013 Oxford, Mississippi RETURNING REBELS FRESH FACES
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\nOle Miss most recently faced the Longhorns last spring when they defeated then No. 13 Texas, 4-2 in Austin, Texas.
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\nTHE REBELS
\nRiley Crowder<\/a> (Fr.) \u2013 Dothan, Alabama
\n– No. 1 recruit out of Alabama in 2025 class\u00a0
\n– 2022 USTA Alabama State Junior and Southern Junior Player of the Year\u00a0
\n– Ranked as high No. 167 in the ITF World Junior circuit\u00a0
\n-Compiled a 6-3 record in singles and 5-4 record in doubles in the Fall of 2025<\/p>\n
\n– Posted a career-high ITF Junior ranking of No. 173\u00a0
\n– Secured the deciding match point in Ole Miss’ upset of No.4 LSU\u00a0
\n-Compiled a 7-6 record in singles and 7-6 record in doubles in the Fall of 2025<\/p>\n
\n– Went 13-12 in singles and 12-14 in doubles during her sophomore campaign\u00a0
\n– Helped the Rebels reach the 2025 NCAA Tournament
\n-Along with Welker, reached the round of 16 at the 2025 NCAA Doubles Championship<\/p>\n
\n– Went 4-0 in dual singles matches in 2025
\n– Overall singles record of 10-8
\n– Blue Chip five-star recruit\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n– Paced the team in dual victories with 12 in 2025, also adding nine wins in doubles\u00a0
\n– Nine of her wins came against conference opponents in 2025, also tops for the team\u00a0
\n– Clinched the match-winning point against No. 13 Texas to give Ole Miss its biggest upset of the 2024-25 season\u00a0
\n– The Souli\u00e9\/Welker duo defeated Georgia’s then-No. 75 tandem of Aysegul Mert and Hayden Mulberry\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n– Ranked No. 6 in ITA singles at the end of the 2025 Fall season\u00a0 \u00a0
\n– Reached the NCAA Singles Championship Semifinals\u00a0in 2025, defeating opponents ranked Nos. 106, 88, 45 and 26
\n-Along with Nova, reached the round of 16 at the 2025 NCAA Doubles Championship<\/p>\n
\n– Top-ranked recruit in her class out of Mississippi, according to Tennis Recruiting Network\u00a0
\n– Won two consecutive MHSAA Class 6A state titles in girls’ singles in 2022 and 2023
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\nBeatrice Stagno<\/a> (Fr.) \u2013 Milan, Italy
\n-Career-high ITF Singles Ranking of 124
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\nRANKINGS
\nTeam:
\nNo. 3 \u2013 Texas A&M
\nNo. 7 – Texas
\nNo. 41 \u2013 Ole Miss
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\nSingles:
\nNo. 1 \u2013 Carmen\u00a0 Andreea Herea (UT)
\nNo. 2 \u2013 Lucciana Perez (TA&M)
\nNo 12 \u2013 Anastasia Abbagnato (UT)
\nNo. 15 \u2013 Emily Welker<\/a> (Ole Miss)
\nNo. 31 \u2013 Mia Kupres (TA&M)
\nNo. 54 \u2013 Ilinca Amariei (TA&M)
\nNo. 71 \u2013 Eszter Meri (UT)
\nNo. 96 \u2013 Violeta Martinez (TA&M)
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\nDoubles:
\nNo. 8 \u2013 Lucciana Perez and Mia Kupres (TA&M)
\nNo. 23 \u2013 Andrea Nova<\/a> and Emily Welker<\/a> (Ole Miss)
\nNo. 41 \u2013 Anastasia Abbagnato and Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo (UT)
\nNo. 53 \u2013 Salma Drugdova and Anastasia Abbagnato (UT)
\nNo. 63 \u2013 Elizabeth Ionescu and Carmen Andreea Hearea (UT)
\nNo. 71 \u2013 Elizabeth Ionescu and Christasha McNeil (UT)
\nNo. 75 \u2013 Ilinca Amariei and Violeta Martinez (TA&M)<\/p>\n
\nAfter graduating four seniors from the previous year’s team, all five remaining players will remain at Ole Miss for the 2025-26 campaign. This season marks\u00a0Emma Kette’s<\/a>\u00a0fourth year with the program, as well as\u00a0Andrea Nova’s<\/a><\/a>\u00a0third year. Among those returning from last season, Nova leads with 13 wins this past spring.\u00a0Emily Welker<\/a><\/a>\u00a0started a majority of matches at court 1 for the Rebels in 2025. Alice Souli\u00e9 led the team with nine conference wins this past season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nThe Rebels brought in three freshmen this offseason to round out the remainder of the roster.\u00a0Riley Crowder<\/a>\u00a0joins the team as the No. 1 recruit coming out of Alabama this past recruiting cycle. Additionally,\u00a0Owen Wilkinson<\/a>\u00a0will come in as the No. 1 recruit coming out of Mississippi, boasting two MHSAA Class 6A titles in girls’ singles at nearby Oxford High School. \u202fIchino Horikawa<\/a>\u00a0comes to Ole Miss by way of Japan after posting a career-high ITF Junior ranking of No. 173.\u00a0
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\nFOLLOW THE REBELS ON SOCIAL
\nFor more information on Ole Miss Women’s Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at\u00a0@OleMissWTennis<\/a>, on Facebook at\u00a0OleMissWTennis<\/a>\u00a0and on Instagram at\u00a0OleMissWTennis<\/a>. Also, follow Coach Roberts on Twitter,\u00a0@gdrob91<\/a>.<\/p>\n