The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, September 12
Montgomery, Ala.
TBD
Ole Miss
vs
Blue Gray Invitational
Women's Tennis to Commence Fall Campaign at Blue Gray Classic
9/11/2025 | Women's Tennis
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Ole Miss women's tennis will begin its fall season Friday at the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic from Sept. 12-14 at the Lagoon Park Tennis Center.
Four Rebels will travel to Montgomery to begin their 2025-26 season. The team's roster consists of five returning players and three freshmen. The tournament will be the first of eight events this fall.
The event will feature four players from each team, split into groups of two. Players will advance as pairs in the compass style tournament over three days. The tournament's field is made up of eight teams, with half of the field hailing from the Southeastern Conference.
Each school will have their doubles team compete against another school's doubles team (eight-game pro-set, tiebreak at seven all). Once the doubles match has been completed, the players from that match will then play against the opposing team, from that same match, in singles with the two-highest ranking players going head-to-head. Singles will be played best of three with everything being played out. The school that wins at least two of the three matches (doubles, singles, singles) will advance to the right in the compass draw while the losing pair will move to the left.
Draws for all three days will be posted to the Blue Gray Classic's homepage once a finalization of rosters has been set. Link to the website will be attached.
THE REBELS
Riley Crowder (Fr.) – Dothan, Alabama
- No. 1 recruit out of Alabama in 2025 class
- Won 11 Junior ITF events, three of which in singles, from 2022-24
- 2022 USTA Alabama State Junior and Southern Junior Player of the Year
- Ranked as high No. 167 in the ITF World Junior circuit
Ichino Horikawa (Sr.) – Kyoto, Japan
- Posted a career-high ITF Junior ranking of No. 173
- Compiled a 21-18 singles record in the junior circuit
Emma Kette (Sr.) – Rammelsbach, Germany
- 37-31 singles record and 21-16 doubles record over her career
- Defeated No. 122 Talia Neilson (Florida) at the 2024 ITA Sectionals
- Reached the quarterfinal round in doubles and the Sweet 16 in singles at the 2024 ITA Southern Regional
Andrea Nova (Jr.) – Prague, Czechia
- Went 13-12 in singles and 12-14 in doubles during her sophomore campaign
- Helped the Rebels reach the 2025 NCAA Tournament
- Shifted between the fourth, fifth and sixth court in 2025
Brooklyn Olson (So.) – Kansas City, Kansas
- Went 5-5 in singles, including a 4-0 dual record, and 13-17 overall doubles record
- Blue Chip five-star recruit
- Reached Sweet 16 of the Les Petits As Junior Tournament in 2020
Alice Soulié (So.) – Angers, France
- Paced the team in dual victories with 12, also adding nine wins in doubles
- Nine of her wins came against conference opponents, also tops for the team
- Clinched the match-winning point against No. 13 Texas to give Ole Miss its biggest upset of the 2024-25 season
- The Soulié/Welker duo defeated Georgia's then-No. 75 tandem of Aysegul Mert and Hayden Mulberry
Emily Welker (Gr.) – Limbach-Oberfrohna, Saxony, Germany
- Ranked No. 67 in ITA singles preseason rankings for the 2025-26 season
- Ranked as high as No. 83 in the ITA singles rankings in the spring of 2025
- Had two wins against nationally ranked opponents, including Florida's No. 27 Rachel Gailis
- Played mostly on court one in singles, claiming four wins
Owen Wilkinson (Fr.) – Oxford, Mississippi
- Top-ranked recruit in her class out of Mississippi, according to Tennis Recruiting Network
- Won two consecutive MHSAA Class 6A state titles in girls' singles in 2022 and 2023
ITA RANKED OPPONENTS
Singles:
1 – DJ Bennett, Auburn
4 – Cadence Brace, LSU
15 – Angella Okutoyi, Auburn
16 – Scarlett Nicholson, Georgia Tech
30 – Kayla Cross, LSU
33 – Merna Refaat, Auburn
48 – Ashton Bowers, Auburn
54 – Alejandra Cruz, Georgia Tech
56 – Gianna Oboniye, Mississippi State
66 – Ekaterina Khayrutdinova, Auburn
67 – Emily Welker, Ole Miss
85 – Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz, Mississippi State
87 – Carolina Kuhl, LSU
111 – Eva Ionescu, Auburn
Doubles:
3 – DJ Bennett, Ashton Bowers, Auburn
6 – Cadence Brace, Kayla Cross, LSU
8 – Angella Okutoyi, Mema Refaat, Auburn
28 – Ekaterina Khayrutdinova, Ava Esposito, Auburn
54 – Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocs, Chiara Di Genova, Mississippi State
62 – Scarlett Nicholson, Alejandra Cruz, Georgia Tech
77 – Alexia Marginean, Ioana Sava, LSU
80 – Gianna Oboniye, Athina Pitta, Mississippi State
RETURNING REBELS
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 fourth year with the program, as well as Andrea Nova's third year. Among those returning from last season, Nova leads with 13 wins this past spring. Emily Welker started a majority of matches at court 1 for the Rebels in 2025. Alice Soulié led the team with nine conference wins this past season.
FRESH FACES
The Rebels brought in three freshmen this offseason to round out the remainder of the roster. Riley Crowder joins the team as the No. 1 recruit coming out of Alabama this past recruiting cycle. Additionally, Owen Wilkinson 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. Ichino Horikawa comes to Ole Miss by way of Japan after posting a career-high ITF Junior ranking of No. 173.
FALL SCHEDULE
Blue Gray Invitational – Sept. 12-14 – Montgomery, Ala.
Milwaukee Tennis Classic – Sept. 20-28 – Milwaukee, Wis.
ITA Regionals – Oct. 13-17 – Auburn, Ala.
ITF W 15 – Oct. 26- Nov. 2 – Sumter, S.C.
Roberta Alison Fall Classic – Oct. 31-Nov. 1 – Tuscaloosa, Ala.
ITA Sectionals – Nov. 6-9 – Baton Rouge, La.
Vanderbilt Invite – Nov. 6-9 – Nashville, Tenn.
ITF W 15 – Nov. 10-16 – Clemson, S.C.
REBS ON SOCIAL
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 Roberts on Twitter, @gdrob91.
Four Rebels will travel to Montgomery to begin their 2025-26 season. The team's roster consists of five returning players and three freshmen. The tournament will be the first of eight events this fall.
The event will feature four players from each team, split into groups of two. Players will advance as pairs in the compass style tournament over three days. The tournament's field is made up of eight teams, with half of the field hailing from the Southeastern Conference.
Each school will have their doubles team compete against another school's doubles team (eight-game pro-set, tiebreak at seven all). Once the doubles match has been completed, the players from that match will then play against the opposing team, from that same match, in singles with the two-highest ranking players going head-to-head. Singles will be played best of three with everything being played out. The school that wins at least two of the three matches (doubles, singles, singles) will advance to the right in the compass draw while the losing pair will move to the left.
Draws for all three days will be posted to the Blue Gray Classic's homepage once a finalization of rosters has been set. Link to the website will be attached.
THE REBELS
Riley Crowder (Fr.) – Dothan, Alabama
- No. 1 recruit out of Alabama in 2025 class
- Won 11 Junior ITF events, three of which in singles, from 2022-24
- 2022 USTA Alabama State Junior and Southern Junior Player of the Year
- Ranked as high No. 167 in the ITF World Junior circuit
Ichino Horikawa (Sr.) – Kyoto, Japan
- Posted a career-high ITF Junior ranking of No. 173
- Compiled a 21-18 singles record in the junior circuit
Emma Kette (Sr.) – Rammelsbach, Germany
- 37-31 singles record and 21-16 doubles record over her career
- Defeated No. 122 Talia Neilson (Florida) at the 2024 ITA Sectionals
- Reached the quarterfinal round in doubles and the Sweet 16 in singles at the 2024 ITA Southern Regional
Andrea Nova (Jr.) – Prague, Czechia
- Went 13-12 in singles and 12-14 in doubles during her sophomore campaign
- Helped the Rebels reach the 2025 NCAA Tournament
- Shifted between the fourth, fifth and sixth court in 2025
Brooklyn Olson (So.) – Kansas City, Kansas
- Went 5-5 in singles, including a 4-0 dual record, and 13-17 overall doubles record
- Blue Chip five-star recruit
- Reached Sweet 16 of the Les Petits As Junior Tournament in 2020
Alice Soulié (So.) – Angers, France
- Paced the team in dual victories with 12, also adding nine wins in doubles
- Nine of her wins came against conference opponents, also tops for the team
- Clinched the match-winning point against No. 13 Texas to give Ole Miss its biggest upset of the 2024-25 season
- The Soulié/Welker duo defeated Georgia's then-No. 75 tandem of Aysegul Mert and Hayden Mulberry
Emily Welker (Gr.) – Limbach-Oberfrohna, Saxony, Germany
- Ranked No. 67 in ITA singles preseason rankings for the 2025-26 season
- Ranked as high as No. 83 in the ITA singles rankings in the spring of 2025
- Had two wins against nationally ranked opponents, including Florida's No. 27 Rachel Gailis
- Played mostly on court one in singles, claiming four wins
Owen Wilkinson (Fr.) – Oxford, Mississippi
- Top-ranked recruit in her class out of Mississippi, according to Tennis Recruiting Network
- Won two consecutive MHSAA Class 6A state titles in girls' singles in 2022 and 2023
ITA RANKED OPPONENTS
Singles:
1 – DJ Bennett, Auburn
4 – Cadence Brace, LSU
15 – Angella Okutoyi, Auburn
16 – Scarlett Nicholson, Georgia Tech
30 – Kayla Cross, LSU
33 – Merna Refaat, Auburn
48 – Ashton Bowers, Auburn
54 – Alejandra Cruz, Georgia Tech
56 – Gianna Oboniye, Mississippi State
66 – Ekaterina Khayrutdinova, Auburn
67 – Emily Welker, Ole Miss
85 – Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz, Mississippi State
87 – Carolina Kuhl, LSU
111 – Eva Ionescu, Auburn
Doubles:
3 – DJ Bennett, Ashton Bowers, Auburn
6 – Cadence Brace, Kayla Cross, LSU
8 – Angella Okutoyi, Mema Refaat, Auburn
28 – Ekaterina Khayrutdinova, Ava Esposito, Auburn
54 – Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocs, Chiara Di Genova, Mississippi State
62 – Scarlett Nicholson, Alejandra Cruz, Georgia Tech
77 – Alexia Marginean, Ioana Sava, LSU
80 – Gianna Oboniye, Athina Pitta, Mississippi State
RETURNING REBELS
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 fourth year with the program, as well as Andrea Nova's third year. Among those returning from last season, Nova leads with 13 wins this past spring. Emily Welker started a majority of matches at court 1 for the Rebels in 2025. Alice Soulié led the team with nine conference wins this past season.
FRESH FACES
The Rebels brought in three freshmen this offseason to round out the remainder of the roster. Riley Crowder joins the team as the No. 1 recruit coming out of Alabama this past recruiting cycle. Additionally, Owen Wilkinson 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. Ichino Horikawa comes to Ole Miss by way of Japan after posting a career-high ITF Junior ranking of No. 173.
FALL SCHEDULE
Blue Gray Invitational – Sept. 12-14 – Montgomery, Ala.
Milwaukee Tennis Classic – Sept. 20-28 – Milwaukee, Wis.
ITA Regionals – Oct. 13-17 – Auburn, Ala.
ITF W 15 – Oct. 26- Nov. 2 – Sumter, S.C.
Roberta Alison Fall Classic – Oct. 31-Nov. 1 – Tuscaloosa, Ala.
ITA Sectionals – Nov. 6-9 – Baton Rouge, La.
Vanderbilt Invite – Nov. 6-9 – Nashville, Tenn.
ITF W 15 – Nov. 10-16 – Clemson, S.C.
REBS ON SOCIAL
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 Roberts on Twitter, @gdrob91.
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