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Braswell, Engels Make CoSIDA Academic All-District Teams
Two Ole Miss Rebels were named to Academic All-District VI teams Thursday – Anna Braswell for women’s track & field/cross country and Craig Engels for men’s track & field/cross country.
The Academic All-District teams are voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). All-District winners are eligible to be voted for CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
Braswell, from Mobile, Alabama, has had a sensational junior year on the track. She currently ranks No. 26 in the country in the 10,000 meters with a personal-best 33:47.22 at the Stanford Invitational, ranking her No. 2 in school history. She placed fourth in the event at the recent SEC Outdoor Championships. She has also set a personal best in the 5000 (16:36.08) and 1500 (4:24.40) this year, ranking top 10 in the Ole Miss record books in each. She anchored the indoor distance medley relay to a bronze medal at the SEC meet in a school-record 11:16.56, while entering the top 10 in school history in the indoor 5000, 3000 and mile, as well.
In the classroom, Braswell holds a 3.92 grade point average as a geological engineering major. She is a four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection.
Engels, a five-time All-American, makes CoSIDA Academic All-District VI for the second straight year. On the track this season, the senior from Pfafftown, North Carolina, has won SEC titles in the outdoor 1500 meters and indoor distance medley relay, as well as leading the Rebels to a national title in the DMR. It was the first national title in any relay in Ole Miss history. He is a career five-time All-American and five-time SEC champion, while owning school records in the outdoor 1500 (3:37.66) and indoor DMR (9:30.48).
After graduating in December with a bachelor’s degree in general studies (minors in business administration, environmental studies and theatre) and a 3.63 final GPA, Engels is pursuing an MBA in the University of Mississippi School of Business Administration. He is a three-time USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree and three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Both Braswell and Engels are in Lexington, Kentucky, this week for the NCAA East Preliminary and a chance to qualify for the upcoming NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports
Season Ends For Ole Miss Women’s Tennis
T
he 2017 season officially came to a close Thursday for the Ole Miss women’s tennis team, as Arianne Hartono lost in the NCAA second round of singles and later in the first round of doubles with Alexa Bortles at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Hartono concludes junior campaign…
Hartono faced Miami freshman Estela Perez-Somarriba in the second round. The match featured a lot of deciding points, and Somarriba came out on the winning end of most of them.
Hartono led 2-0 in the first set, but lost a deciding point on her serve to get broken. At 3-3, Hartono lost another deciding point on her serve, but immediately broke back for 4-4. Somarriba broke again and then staved off multiple break points by Hartono to take the first set 6-4.
The second set featured a short rain delay and both players traded breaks in the first four games for 2-2. Unfortunately, Hartono got broken twice more to fall behind 5-2. She got one break back, but lost a deciding point on her serve, as Somarriba clinched the second set 6-3 to advance to the third round.
At the net with Hartono…
• This is the 11th year in a row for the Rebels to have a representative in the NCAA Individual Championships
• This marked the second consecutive year for Hartono to reach the second round in singles
• Hartono ends her singles campaign at 20-15
First NCAA appearance for Hartono/Bortles…
In their first NCAA appearance as a duo, Hartono and Bortles dropped their first-round match to Denver’s 17th-ranked duo of Julia O’Loughlin and Maureen Slattery. Both Hartono and Bortles were broken to start and the Denver pair went on to win the opening set 6-1.
Bortles and Hartono came back in the second set from an early break, but could not hold off the Denver duo. Despite having multiple game points serving at 5-6, Denver rallied and won the deciding point for 7-5 to clinch and advance to the second round.
At the net with Hartono/Bortles…
• Hartono and Bortles end the year at 7-7 after teaming up in late March
• They went from unranked to No. 21 and qualifying for the NCAA Championships
• Hartono and Bortles will both be back next year
The Rebels will return five of their top six players from this year in 2018 and add Czech Republic junior national champion Sabina Machalova in the fall.
Thoughts from head coach Mark Beyers…
On Arianne’s match
“It was a tough match that could have gone either way. Lots of close games. The Miami kid played the big points a little bit more consistent. All-in-all, a great year for Ari. She has definitely established herself as one of the top players in college tennis. There is no doubt Ari is continuing to improve and becoming a more complete player every day.”
On doubles
“Bad start today for us. Denver really jumped on us in the first set. We played a lot better in the second set and had quite a few opportunities to take it, but got a little bit unlucky and didn’t execute very well as some big moments.”
Results
NCAA Singles Championship
Second round – #40 Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. #27 Arianne Hartono (OM) 6-4, 6-3
NCAA Doubles Championship
First round — #17 O’Loughlin/Slattery (DU) def. Hartono/Bortles (OM) 6-1, 7-5
For more information on Ole Miss Women’s Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWTennis, on Facebook at OleMissWTennis and on Instagram at OleMissWTennis. Also follow Coach Beyers on Twitter, @MarkBeyers.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports
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