Mississippi State
Ole Miss
Bulldogs Open SEC Slate In Oxford
March 01, 2024 | Women's Tennis
OXFORD - Mississippi State will open the Southeastern Conference portion of its schedule on Saturday by traveling to take on No. 42 Ole Miss at 1 p.m.
The Bulldogs posted a solid 9-3 record during the non-conference portion of their schedule under first-year head coach Chris Hooshyar. State heads into the weekend having won two of its last three matches, including most recently a 4-1 victory at New Orleans last Friday.
"We've got to win matches this year by being the team that's the most comfortable being uncomfortable," Hooshyar said. "We're going to be the underdogs in every match that we play. But the one thing that rankings don't portray is fight and desire. So if we have the most fight and the most desire, we can hopefully sneak some of these matches and that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to be realistic where we are with a clear goal of the future. We know we can't get to tomorrow without taking care of business today."
Senior Alexandra Mikhailuk has shined in singles with a 9-1 record during dual match play and leads the team with a 12-6 record overall. Mikhailuk has racked up 66 career victories and is one win shy of tying Claire Pollard (1986-89) for 10th on the school's all-time list.
Freshman Jayna Clemens is also playing well of late, having won six of her last seven singles matches this spring. Clemens (10), Dharani Niroshan (11) and Maria Rizzolo (10) have all reached double-digit victories in singles this season.
Niroshan also makes up half of MSU's most successful doubles tandem this spring alongside Alessia Tagliente. Niroshan and Tagliente are 10-4 and have won six of their last eight matches together.
"This week has been an incredibly tough week at practice," Hooshyar said. "We've been incredibly physical. We've been pushing it more like it's the offseason rather than the regular season. We only have the one matchup against Ole Miss so we have the mindset of being battle ready."
Ole Miss is 5-2 on the year and enters SEC play riding back-to-back wins over Baylor and Tulane. The Rebels beat the Bears 4-1 at home on Feb. 16 and did the same in New Orleans with a 5-2 victory against the Green Wave this past Sunday.
For more information on the Bulldog women's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateWT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
