May 14, 2012

OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss women’s tennis team dominated the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Southern Regional Awards announced Monday.  The Rebels won five of the seven awards handed out.

Kristi Boxx was named the Senior of the Year, Erin Stephens was named the Rookie of the Year, sophomore Caroline Rohde-Moe earned the Player to Watch Award, head coach Mark Beyers was named the Coach of the Year, and Jason Ontog received the Assistant Coach of the Year Award.

“This is a great honor for all these players and for Jason.  They’re very much-deserved.   The Southern Region is a very strong region, so to be voted to win these awards is awesome and shows how much of a successful year we had,” Beyers said.  “It obviously ended in a disappointing way, but if you look at the total body of work, it was a great season overall.”

Boxx, a native of Grenada, Miss., becomes the third player in the history of the program to be named Senior of the Year in the Southern Region and the second in a row.   She became just the second player in the history of the program to earn All-SEC first team honors all four years and the second player to record 200 wins combined in singles and doubles.  Boxx is presently ranked No. 10 in the nation in singles and No. 7 in doubles.  She will compete in the NCAA Singles and Doubles beginning May 23 in Athens, Ga.

Stephens, of Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., played No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles and earned All-SEC second team honors in addition to making the All-Freshman Team.  She is the third Rebel recipient of this award.

Rohde-Moe, a native of Bloomenholm, Norway, is the third Rebel player to earn the Player to Watch Award.  She earned All-SEC second team honors and is currently ranked No. 83 in the nation in singles.

The Rebels also took home both coaching awards with head coach Mark Beyers earning Coach-of-the-Year and Jason Ontog picking up Assistant Coach-of-the-Year honors for the second time in three years, as they both won the awards in 2010.

Ole Miss ended its season last Saturday with a tough loss to Rice here in the NCAA Second Round.   However, the Rebels did enjoy a solid season, posting the most wins since 1999 (18-9), earning their first National Team Indoor bid in more than a decade and hosting the NCAA First and Second Rounds for the first time since 1999.

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