{"id":157809,"date":"2026-04-15T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=157809"},"modified":"2026-04-14T15:32:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T20:32:35","slug":"ole-miss-womens-tennis-to-begin-postseason-play-in-the-2026-sec-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/ole-miss-womens-tennis-to-begin-postseason-play-in-the-2026-sec-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Ole Miss\u00a0Women\u2019s Tennis to Begin Postseason Play in the 2026 SEC Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The No. 38 and 10th-seeded Ole Miss<\/strong> women’s tennis team is set to play in the 2025 SEC Tournament on Wednesday, April 15, with the Rebels squaring off against the 15th-seeded Kentucky<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opening round for Ole Miss (14-10, 6-9 SEC) is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. CT. The match against Kentucky (9-15, 1-14 SEC) and the entirety of the SEC Championship will be held at the Headington Family Tennis Center<\/strong> in Norman, Oklahoma<\/strong>, running from April 15-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Live scoring and live video for matches will be available to the public. Links to both can be found above, as well as on the Ole Miss men’s tennis schedule page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ole Miss faced Kentucky this past Saturday, completing a 4-0 sweep to close out its regular season, and will look to continue that trend come match time. The Rebels will be leaning on their ranked lineup featuring\u00a0Emily Welker<\/strong><\/a><\/dfn>, who is No. 19 in singles, and\u00a0Andrea Nova<\/strong><\/a><\/dfn>\u00a0and Welker, who together in doubles are No. 9 nationally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kentucky is coming off a conference slate where they were only able to defeat a single SEC opponent, which was the Missouri Tigers<\/strong>. Despite this, the Wildcats have had impressive individual performances, even boasting two ranked singles players and a ranked doubles pairing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Ole Miss advances to the Second Round of the tournament, they will take on the 7th-seeded Vanderbilt <\/strong>on April 16, on Thursday at 12 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RANKINGS<\/strong>
Team:<\/strong>
No. 38 Ole Miss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Singles:<\/strong>
No. 19 \u2013\u00a0Emily Welker<\/strong><\/a><\/dfn>\u00a0(OM)
No. 76 \u2013 Zoe Hammond<\/strong> (UK)
No. 98 \u2013 Julia Zhu<\/strong> (UK)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doubles:<\/strong>
No. 9 \u2013\u00a0Andrea Nova<\/strong><\/a><\/dfn>\u00a0and\u00a0Emily Welker<\/strong><\/a><\/dfn>\u00a0(OM)
No. 55 \u2013 Asuncion Jadue<\/strong> and Reese Sager<\/strong> (UK)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE REBELS<\/strong>
Riley Crowder<\/strong><\/a>(Fr.) \u2013 Dothan, Alabama<\/strong><\/em>
– No. 1 recruit out of Alabama in 2025 class\u00a0
– 2022 USTA Alabama State Junior and Southern Junior Player of the Year\u00a0
– Ranked as high as No. 167 in the ITF World Junior circuit\u00a0
-Compiled a 6-3 record in singles and a 5-4 record in doubles in the Fall of 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ichino Horikawa<\/strong><\/a>(Sr.) \u2013 Kyoto, Japan<\/em>
– Posted a career-high ITF Junior ranking of No. 173\u00a0
– Secured the deciding match point in Ole Miss’s upset of No.4 LSU\u00a0
-Compiled a 7-6 record in singles and 7-6 record in doubles in the Fall of 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Andrea Nova<\/strong><\/a>\u202f(Jr.) \u2013 Prague, Czechia<\/em>
– Went 13-12 in singles and 12-14 in doubles during her sophomore campaign\u00a0
– Helped the Rebels reach the 2025 NCAA Tournament
-Along with Welker, reached the round of 16 at the 2025 NCAA Doubles Championship<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brooklyn Olson<\/strong><\/a>(So.) \u2013 Kansas City, Kansas<\/em>
– Went 4-0 in dual singles matches in 2025
– Overall singles record of 10-8
– Blue Chip five-star recruit\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alice Souli\u00e9<\/strong>\u202f<\/a>(So.) \u2013 Angers, France<\/em>
– Paced the team in dual victories with 12 in 2025, also adding nine wins in doubles\u00a0
– Nine of her wins came against conference opponents in 2025, also tops for the team\u00a0
– Clinched the match-winning point against No. 13 Texas to give Ole Miss its biggest upset of the 2024-25 season\u00a0
– The Souli\u00e9\/Welker duo defeated Georgia’s then-No. 75 tandem of Aysegul Mert and Hayden Mulberry\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Emily Welker<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(Gr.) \u2013\u202fLimbach-Oberfrohna, Saxony, Germany<\/em>
– Ranked No. 6 in ITA singles at the end of the 2025 Fall season\u00a0 \u00a0
– Reached the NCAA Singles Championship Semifinals\u00a0in 2025, defeating opponents ranked Nos. 106, 88, 45 and 26
-Along with Nova, reached the round of 16 at the 2025 NCAA Doubles Championship<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Owen Wilkinson<\/strong><\/a>(Fr.) \u2013 Oxford, Mississippi<\/em>
– Top-ranked recruit in her class out of Mississippi, according to Tennis Recruiting Network\u00a0
– Won two consecutive MHSAA Class 6A state titles in girls’ singles in 2022 and 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beatrice Stagno<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(Fr.) \u2013 Milan, Italy
-Career-high ITF Singles Ranking of 124<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RETURNING REBELS<\/strong>
After 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 Emma Kette’s<\/a> fourth year with the program, as well as <\/dfn><\/a>Andrea Nova’s<\/a> third year. Among those returning from last season, Nova leads with 13 wins this past spring. <\/dfn><\/a>Emily Welker<\/a> started 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

FRESH FACES<\/strong>
The Rebels brought in three freshmen this offseason to round out the remainder of the roster. Riley Crowder<\/a> joins the team as the No. 1 recruit coming out of Alabama this past recruiting cycle. Additionally, Owen Wilkinson<\/a> will 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> comes to Ole Miss by way of Japan after posting a career-high ITF Junior ranking of No. 173.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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