For everything that happened in the world of sports on the Ole Miss campus on the week of March 17 – March 23, 2014.
Women’s Tennis
Khairudinova Named SEC Freshman Of The Week
Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics
Ole Miss women’s tennis player Zalina Khairudinova has been named the SEC Freshman of the Week as announced by the league office Wednesday.
Khairudinova went 4-1 in singles and doubles leading the Rebels to a 2-1 record last week, including a win over No. 24 Kentucky. When she clinched the match, her teammate was down in the third set at No. 5 singles.
She teamed up with junior Julia Jones, where they went 1-1 in doubles and were leading 7-3 against Kentucky when the point was clinched. The two are ranked No. 55 with a 12-3 record, 10-3 in dual matches. The freshman helped clinch the Rebels sixth straight win over the Lady Wildcats.
Khairudinova owns a 9-5 overall record, 5-3 at No. 1 singles. She is the first Rebel freshman to play No. 1 singles since two-time All-American Kristi Boxx in 2009.
The Rebels travel to Arkansas and LSU this weekend.
Follow the Rebels on Twitter, @OleMissWTennis and on Facebook at OleMissWTennis.
–Ole Miss Sports Information
Lady Rebels Tennis Set To Take On Arkansas, LSU
Following their sixth consecutive victory against the No. 24 Kentucky Wildcats, the Ole Miss women’s tennis team travels to Fayetteville, Ark., and Baton Rouge, La., this weekend for matches against Arkansas and LSU.
With the win over Kentucky the team moved up six spots from No. 38 to No. 32 in the ITA National Rankings. The Rebels are looking to improve their SEC record and pick up two more wins.
“Hopefully last week gave us a lot of confidence. Even in the loss to Vanderbilt, we played well. Now we have to go on the road and it’s never easy. Not only are they two good teams, but you have to deal with the travel from one place to another. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going and get two more wins.”
The reigning SEC Freshman of the Week, Zalina Khairudinova picked up two ranked wins last week, beating 73rd-ranked Cindy Chala of VCU and 63rd-ranked Georgina Sellyn of Vanderbilt. Khairudinova also won in straight sets on Sunday to clinch the win against Kentucky. She improved to 5-3 at No. 1 singles.
“The honor is well-deserved for Zalina,” Beyers said. “She had great wins against VCU, Vanderbilt and Kentucky. Hopefully she can gain some confidence from those matches and keep playing, because things don’t get any easier, when you are playing No. 1 singles.
The Razorbacks (8-9, 1-5) are coming off of a come-from-behind 4-3 victory against the Missouri Tigers in Columbia, Mo.
On Sunday, the Rebels will face a Tigers’ squad currently 1-5 in SEC play, 8-5 overall.
The Lady Tigers were shut out (4-0) in their last match against No. 7 Texas A&M in College Station, Texas.
— Ole Miss Sports Information
Women’s Golf
Former Rebel Ericka Schneider To Make Pro Debut
Former Ole Miss women’s golfer Ericka Schneider has earned a sponsor’s exemption and will make her professional debut on the Symetra Tour, the official qualifying tour of the LPGA, at the Guardian Retirement Championship at Sara Bay April 25-27 in Sarasota Fla.
Schneider, a Bradenton Fla. native, grew up just minutes from the course in which she will make her professional debut and has played numerous high school and junior tournaments at Sara Bay. In 2008, she won the Central Florida Junior Golf Tour. Schneider also won the Sarasota Junior Championship in 2008.
“It’s always exciting when you get a chance to play in your hometown because people that have always wanted to come watch me play in a tournament can come now,” said Schneider. “This one is in my hometown and it’s on a weekend, so it’s a win-win.”
Schneider exhausted her collegiate eligibility last season but not before leading the Rebels to their fifth consecutive NCAA Championship appearance. Schneider, who wrapped up her collegiate career at Ole Miss in 2013, came to Ole Miss from Daytona State College.
Schneider played in 21 tournaments and posted five top-20 finishes, including a tie for 15th place at the Landfall Tradition and the GolfWeek Conference Challenge during her senior year. She also took a fourth place finish at the LSU Gold Classic, tying her career-best round while shooting a 75-69-78-222 The Florida native also did her part off the course being named to the Deans Honor Roll as well as earning spots on the SEC Academic Honor Roll and the UMAA Honor Roll.
“It’s exciting to play in my first professional tournament in my hometown,” said Schneider. “It’s special in that aspect.”
For all Ole Miss women’s golf news and information, go to OleMissSports.com, and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWGolf and on Facebook at Ole Miss Women’s Golf.
–Ole Miss Sports Information
Softball
Ole Miss Throws Combined No-Hitter in Victory
Ole Miss pitchers Carly Hummel, Shelby Jo Fenter and Madi Osias were in a grooveWednesday evening at the Ole Miss Softball Complex as they combined to throw a no-hitter against Louisiana Tech, leading the Rebels to a 3-0 victory.
It was the sixth no-hitter in Ole Miss softball history, and the first combined no-hitter in program history.
Hummel, who has two no-hitters at Ole Miss, including the first perfect game in school history, which occurred earlier this season, pitched the opening four innings, striking out five and allowing zero walks. Fenter then pitched the next two innings with one strikeout and no walks before Osias came in to pick up the save, striking out one and walking one in the seventh. In all, Ole Miss (17-13) retired the first 19 batters of the game in order.
“Carly’s been our ace so far this season, but she’s thrown a lot of innings so going into the game I knew I wanted to throw her for at most four innings,” Ole Miss head coach Windy Thees said. “Shelby Jo is coming off an injury and I wanted to get her out there before we face Arkansas just to get her an inning or so. So, I had a plan before hand and then of course you go into a perfect game and you’re like, ‘No, stick to the plan, stick to the plan.’ So we did.”
After the game, Thees was pleased to see how close the Rebel pitching staff was and how much they each enjoyed the accomplishment together as a unit.
“Our pitching staff is really close this year,” Thees said. “One thing we talked about before the year was pitching by staff. I told them about the Atlanta Braves staff I used to love growing up. They fed off each other. That’s what I want my pitching staff to be like. I want them to be each other’s biggest fans and feed off each other and they did a good job of that. They were so excited for each other.”
All three of Ole Miss’ runs came in the bottom of the third inning. Senior outfielder RT Cantillo led off the inning with a home run to center field, her first of the season. Osias, playing as the designated player at the time, added to the Rebels’ total with a two-RBI double down the left-field line four batters later. Ole Miss outhit the Lady Techsters (8-20) by an 8-0 count.
Ole Miss faces Arkansas (21-8, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) this weekend in an SEC matchup. The Rebels and Razorbacks will play at 6 p.m. CT on Friday, followed by a 2 p.m. first pitch Saturday. Sunday’s game will air on Fox Sports South and will begin at 3 p.m. CT.
For all Ole Miss softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball and on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball.
–Ole Miss Sports Information
Track and Field
Ole Miss Opens Outdoor Track Season At Home Saturday
Boasting a crop of veteran athletes that rank at or near the top returning people in their event areas, Ole Miss Track & Field kicks off a promising outdoor campaign Saturday at home with the Ole Miss Open.
The meet will get underway at the Ole Miss Track & Field Complex at 9 a.m. (field events) and runs through approximately 6:40 p.m.
The Rebel men are coming off a 24th-place national finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships, led by junior Sam Kendricks in the pole vault and freshman Jalen Miller in the 60 meter dash. It was the men’s third straight top-25 national finish under second-year head coach Brian O’Neal (indoor and outdoor combined).
Defending NCAA outdoor champ Kendricks will help lead the Rebels during outdoors, as well, as he is the top-ranked returning pole vaulter in the country (19-0.75).
Ole Miss adds to the mix senior Ricky Robertson and junior Phillip Young, who both sat out last year but are the top returning athletes in the high jump (7-7.25) and triple jump (53-5.75), respectively. Robertson also ranks third among national returners in the triple jump (53-2.25).
Other Rebel men expected to provide quality marks this season include senior sprinter Mike Granger, junior jumper Malcolm Davis, junior hurdler Robert Semien, sophomore throwers Onyi Afoaku and Nathan Loe and new distance runners Daniel Bulmer, Robert Domanic, Trevor Gilley and Sean Tobin.
Ole Miss finished eighth at last year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships, the best national finish in school history.
“Our goals are to compete with pride and passion for the Red and Blue,” O’Neal said. “We’re always looking to improve on both the men’s and women’s sides, so we want to do even better than we did last year.”
As always, other athletes will inevitably “come out of nowhere” and show that they belong among the elite, as well. Possibilities for the Rebel men include football players Kailo Moore and Quintavius Burdette, who will join the team after spring practice.
“I want to thank Coach (Hugh) Freeze for being a team player,” O’Neal said. “He genuinely wants to do what is best for these student-athletes, and his willingness to let some of his guys run track I believe is what’s best for Ole Miss Athletics as a whole.”
On the women’s side, the Rebels are still dealing with the effects of some indoor season injuries, but senior Mary Ashton Nall returns after earning All-America honors in the heptathlon a year ago. Other returning All-Americans include senior Fabia McDonald (heptathlon) and sophomore Asia Cooper (indoor 60 meters).
Look for junior hurdler Taryn Hartfield, junior sprinter Jhorden Hunter and junior jumper Kierra White to also be among the Rebel women’s team leaders.
— Ole Miss Sports Information
This weekend at Ole Miss
Baseball
The baseball team opens SEC play at home against the Missouri Tigers in a three game series. The Rebels enter the weekend 18-4 and 1-2 in the SEC after beating Arkansas State 4-3 on Wednesday night.
Game times between the Rebels and Tigers are:
Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
On Friday, HottyToddy.com will have a complete preview of this weekends series.
Softball
Carley Hummel and the softball team hosts the Arkansas Razorbacks this weekend. On Wednesday night, the Rebels used three pitchers to complete a no-hitter against Louisiana Tech. Ole Miss looks to rebound after getting swept by the Alabama Crimson Tide last weekend.
Game times are set for:
Friday at 6:00 p.m.
Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
Sunday at 3:00 pm
HottyToddy.com Sports Roundup: March 17-23
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