OXFORD, Miss. \u2013 After leading the Ole Miss women\u2019s tennis team to the most wins in more than a decade and a top 25 final national ranking for the third time in four years, Rebel head coach Mark Beyers has agreed to terms for a new four-year contract.<\/p>\n
Beyers coached the Rebels to their fourth straight NCAA appearance this past year and a final national ranking of No. 18.\u00a0 The Rebels (18-9) hosted the NCAA first and second rounds for the first time since 1999 and finished among the top four in the overall SEC standings for the second time in three years.\u00a0 The 18 wins are the most since the 1999 team posted 21.\u00a0 The Rebels also advanced to the National Team Indoor Final 16 for the first time since 2000.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur women\u2019s tennis program is a perennial NCAA and top-25 team with Coach Beyers at the helm,\u201d said Lynnette Johnson, Executive Associate Athletics Director.\u00a0 \u201cWe continue to compete for championships and graduate our student-athletes.\u00a0 The future is very bright for this program under Mark\u2019s guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to thank Ross Bjork and Lynnette Johnson for their confidence in me,\u201d said Mark Beyers, two\u2013time ITA Southern Region Coach of the Year.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI am very honored to remain the head coach at Ole Miss and look forward to continuing our quest to bring SEC and national championships to Oxford.\u00a0 With our upgraded facility and new athletics leadership, there is no place I would rather be coaching than right here at Ole Miss.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to an 8-3 record in the SEC to finish fourth overall, the Rebels reached the SEC Tournament semifinals for the third time in four years.<\/p>\n
Kristi Boxx and Abby Guthrie earned All-America honors bringing the total in the program to 10.\u00a0 Boxx became the second Rebel player ever to earn All-SEC first team honors all four years as well as the second player in program history to record 200 combined wins in singles and doubles.\u00a0 Boxx was joined on the All-SEC team by Caroline-Rohde Moe, Abby Guthrie and freshman Erin Stephens.\u00a0 Julia Jones made the All-Freshman Team along with Stephens.<\/p>\n
Since taking over the program in 2002, Beyers has coached five players to All-America honors and 14 players to All-SEC honors.<\/p>\n
In addition to on-court success, Beyers\u2019 teams have been among the best in the nation academically. The Rebels have earned the ITA All-Academic Team Award 15 consecutive years.\u00a0 Senior Gabby Rangel was a finalist for the SEC Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Postgraduate Scholarship and earned a prestigious Taylor Medal (highest academic honor at university).\u00a0 Both Rangel and Boxx graduated this past May, and Rangel graduated with highest honors.<\/p>\n
The Rebels return five of the top seven from this year\u2019s team, including All-SEC performers Rohde-Moe, Stephens and Jones in addition to sophomore Vivian Vlaar and freshman Iris Verboven.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Also returning is Paige Keating.\u00a0 The team will add Russian native Santa Shumilina, who joined the Rebels in January and will be eligible in 2013, and Swedish standout Marija Milutinovic who signed this spring and will arrive in the fall.<\/p>\n
Follow the Rebels on twitter at @OleMissWTennis<\/a> and on facebook at www.facebook.com\/OleMissWTennis<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"