The Ole Miss women’s tennis team will host No. 20 Mississippi State on Senior Day Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center to close out the regular season SEC schedule.
Ole Miss (13-11, 3-9) dropped the doubles point to No. 11 Auburn and could not mount a rally in singles as the Tigers won 4-0 Wednesday at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
Saturday’s contest marks the final home match for senior Zalina Khairudinova. The native of Shymkent, Kazakhstan has helped lead the Rebels to the NCAAs every year of her career. She has clinched several matches throughout her career, including the 4-3 victory against Mississippi State the last time the two teams played in Oxford.
In their last match, No. 20 Mississippi State (13-7, 6-6) lost 7-0 to No. 1 Florida. The Bulldogs are led by senior Jasmine Lee, who is ranked No. 16 with a 20-6 overall record, 16-3 at No. 1 singles. Lee also teams with freshman Lisa Marie Rioux for a No. 3 doubles ranking and a 14-4 record at No. 1 doubles.
“Mississippi State has a very good team, especially at the top of the lineup,” head coach Mark Beyers said. “It’s senior day, and we would like to encourage everyone to come out and help us honor Zalina and try to get a win as we head into the conference tournament next week.”
After 26 straight wins in the series for the Rebels, the streak ended last season in Starkville with a 5-2 loss. The last time the two teams met in Oxford (2015), the Rebels won an exciting match, 4-3.
Adam Brown is the sports editor for HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at adam.brown@hottytoddy.com.
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