Today’s sports roundup also features Ole Miss’ Gibson Named SEC Women’s Basketball Freshman of the Week, Rebels Snag Road Win at Florida, Ole Miss Women’s Track & Field Jumps to No. 11 in Nation
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Ole Miss Women’s Tennis Recruiting Class Ranked No. 18 in Nation
As the Ole Miss women’s tennis team prepares for the upcoming National Team Indoor Championships, they received good news on Monday with the release of the latest recruiting rankings. The Rebels’ latest recruiting class is ranked No. 18 in the nation, according to Tennisrecruiting.net.
The 2017-18 recruiting class includes freshman Alexa Bortles, who joined the team in January, and Sabina Machalova, who will join the program in the fall of 2017.
Bortles, who had a WTA ranking of 894 in doubles and won ITF Pro Circuit titles, is already off to a great start with the Rebels. With a combined record of 6-0 in singles and doubles, Bortles has helped the Rebels achieve a ranking of No. 19 in the latest poll.
Machalová won the Czech Republic U-18 National Championship in singles and doubles in 2015. She currently owns a WTA ranking of 1039 in singles and 663 in doubles.
The Rebels are gearing up for the National Team Indoor Feb. 10-13 in New Haven, Connecticut, with the draw set to be announced Tuesday.
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
Ole Miss’ Gibson Named SEC Women’s Basketball Freshman of the Week
Freshman forward Shelby Gibson (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) nabbed her second SEC Freshman of the Week accolade after scoring 16 points and going 7-of-8 from the free throw line to lead Ole Miss to a 84-75 road win at Florida on Monday night.
Gibson, who was also Freshman of the Week on Jan. 3 after wins over Mississippi Valley State and Arkansas, becomes the first Ole Miss player in the Insell era to earn multiple Freshman of the Week accolades and the first Ole Miss player since Alliesha Easley won the honor twice during her rookie campaign in 2006-07.
In her second career start, Gibson was a workhorse tying her career high with 16 points and nabbing six rebounds all while getting over the flu. Gibson’s 16 points marked her third straight game in double figures and is the most points Gibson has scored in an SEC contest. Gibson showcased her range, nailing her seventh three-pointer of the season, while going 7-of-8 from the free throw line – also new career marks.
The 6-3 Gibson continues to expand upon her outstanding start to her freshman season. She’s averaging 7.5 points per game, but has reached double figures in each of the last three games, averaging 13.5 points per game in that span. Ole Miss’ top scoring freshman, Gibson has grabbed a rebound in each game this season and has made her way into the scorebook on 19 occasions. She became the first Ole Miss freshman since current Coordinator of Player Engagement Armintie Herrington to open a season with back-to-back games in double figures when she posted 14 points against Southeastern Louisiana and 10 points against Lipscomb.
The Rebels open a three-game homestand on Thursday when they welcome LSU to the Pavilion at Ole Miss. Game time is set for 6 PM CT and will air on SEC Network+ and the WatchESPN app with Richard Cross and Lindsay Roy on the call.
For all Ole Miss women’s basketball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com, and follow the Rebels on Twitter and Instagram at @OleMissWBB , Facebook at Ole Miss Women’s Basketball and on Snapchat at the handle @OleMissWBB. Fans can also follow Ole Miss women’s basketball head coach Matt Insell on Twitter at @minsell.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports
Rebels Snag Road Win at Florida
The fourth quarter wasn’t for the faint of heart, as the teams went back and forth early, but Ole Miss was able to use some timely shooting from Muhammad and Shandricka Sessom (Byhalia, Miss.) to take a 71-64 lead with 5:55 left. The home team cut it to five with 2:06 to go, but Ole Miss was flawless from the line late, going 5-of-5 to seal the win.
The third period was as close of a quarter as the Rebels and have played this season with the lead never growing larger than one possession throughout. Florida tied the game at 55 with 1:21 left in the quarter on a bucket from Dyandria Anderson, who had seven points in the third quarter, but Muhammad gave the lead back to the Rebels with a bucket from the right side. Florida took a lead on the three-point play from Haley Lorenzen, but Ole Miss responded with a late triple from Erika Sisk (Oxford, Miss.) to take a 60-58 lead into the fourth quarter.
Ole Miss opened the second quarter with a 12-0 run fueled by triples from Muhammad, Sessom and Gibson, forcing the Gators to call a timeout at the 6:53 mark. Ole Miss ramped up the defensive pressure in the second quarter and it showed as the Gators had seven second-quarter turnovers.
The quarter was filled with runs, Ole Miss opened the frame with a 12-0 run and Florida closed with a 13-6 spurt over the final 4:30 to cut a once-10 point Ole Miss lead to just three points at halftime.
Both teams started the game solid from the offensive end of the floor with Ole Miss taking a 14-11 lead at the first quarter media timeout. The Rebels shot the ball well in the first quarter, shooting 41.2 percent on 7-of-17 shooting and especially capitalized in transition with an 8-0 advantage but it was the Gators who took a 20-19 lead after one.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports
Ole Miss Women’s Track & Field Jumps to No. 11 in Nation
This marks the team’s highest ranking – indoor or outdoor – since they were No. 7 in week one of the 2008 indoor season.
The USTFCCCA computer rankings were established in 2008 as a statistics-based predictor for NCAA team success. Various media outlets released national team rankings prior to 2008, notably the Trackwire 25, and the Ole Miss women experienced some success there too, including a No. 11 national ranking during the 2001 indoor season.
Under second-year head coach Connie Price-Smith, the Rebels are led by a trio of junior standouts.
Raven Saunders is the world leader in the shot put (19.10m/62-8) and ranks No. 6 nationally in the weight throw (21.67m/71-1.25) after a big PR last weekend in New Mexico. The reigning NCAA outdoor shot put champion set the all-time collegiate records for the indoor and outdoor shot put last year and was also a fifth-place finisher in the event at the Olympic Games in Rio.
Janeah Stewart, a junior college transfer, has made a big impression in her first couple of months as a Rebel. She currently ranks No. 3 in the NCAA in the weight throw (school-record 21.86m/71-8.75) and 11th nationally in the shot put (16.81m/55-2).
Lindsey Murray has cleared a season-best 4.22m/13-10 in the pole vault, which puts her ninth in the college ranks.
The Ole Miss men are not ranked in the top 25, but have yet to fully unleash the stable of distance runners that helped them finish a program-best fourth at the recent NCAA Cross Country Championships.
The Rebels will compete at a pair of meets this weekend in the final tune-ups before the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships – the Music City Challenge (Nashville, Tenn.) and Iowa State Classic (Ames, Iowa).
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports
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