UNIVERSITY RELEASE — Originally published by Ole Miss Athletics, Oct. 3, 2026.
Ole Miss women’s tennis won the Blue Gray Tennis Classic on Saturday, beating top-seeded Wake Forest 4-3 in the championship match. Junior Alice Battesti was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after coming through in both singles and doubles across the Rebels’ run to the title.
The semifinal: a doubles sweep, then two singles
Ole Miss reached the final with a 4-2 win over Utah, and the Rebels set the tone by taking both doubles matches. Sophomore Riley Crowder and freshman Sarah Victoria Majesty Nita handled Akid and Lenz 6-2, and freshman Lèna Thomas Iglesias and Battesti beat Moore and Metwali 6-4.
Battesti kept rolling in singles with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Utah’s Moore. Nita’s was the harder road — she took the first set 6-3, lost the second 5-7, then came back to win the third 7-5 and send Ole Miss to the championship match. Utah’s two points came from Akid, who beat Crowder 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, and Metwali, who beat Iglesias 6-4, 7-6.
The final: down early, then three in a row
Wake Forest started fast. The Demon Deacons claimed the opening doubles point, with Hill and Santos beating Crowder and Nita 7-6(5) and Gownder and Nisbet beating Iglesias and Battesti 6-4, then extended the advantage when Hill beat Crowder 6-1, 7-5 in singles.
From there the Rebels ran off three consecutive singles wins to level the match. Battesti dropped the first set 4-6 before turning it around 7-5, 6-4 against Gownder. Nita beat Santos 6-2, 7-5. Iglesias was the most emphatic of the three, running past Nisbet 6-0, 6-2.
That left the title on the final doubles match, and Crowder and Nita delivered, beating Hill and Santos 10-6 to clinch the 4-3 win and the championship.
Battesti’s weekend
The MVP award followed a tournament in which Battesti won in both singles and doubles competition, including the three-set comeback over Gownder that started the Rebels’ run of three straight singles points in the final.
📄 Read the full university release: Women’s Tennis Claims Blue Gray Tennis Classic Championship → (OleMissSports.com)