Four Ole Miss Rebels qualified to compete in the 2025 NCAA Division I Singles and Doubles Championships in Orlando, Fla., from Nov. 18-23. The pair of Emily Welker and Andrea Nova will represent the women’s team in doubles, and the pair of Kai Milburn and Isac Strömberg will represent the men’s team. Welker will also compete in singles.
Both duos qualified for the tournament after their wins in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Southern Regionals in October. This tournament is a competition for individuals, while the spring championship will be for teams.
Welker competed in the ITA Southern Sectionals in Baton Rouge, La., and qualified for NCAA Individual Championships for singles.
Milburn and Strömberg are 7-1 in doubles this season, while Welker and Nova are 5-0.
The path to the tournament began in September with the ITA All-American Championships. From this event, 10 singles athletes and four doubles pairs qualified for the NCAA tournament.
In October, the top two finishers in singles and doubles champions from each of the 13 regions of the ITA Regionals qualified for the NCAA championship. From this tournament, 26 of the 64 spots in the NCAA singles bracket were filled, and 13 of the 32 spots in the doubles bracket were filled.
The NCAA Division I Singles and Doubles Championships is the final stop for athletes individually. The championships follow a single elimination format in both singles and doubles. In the singles bracket, athletes play the best of three sets; doubles pairs compete in a one-set match, but the winner must win by at least two games.
Winners of the singles championships earn wildcard entries into the US Open the following year.
“That’s really exciting, and I wish them the best,” sophomore biology major Cassidy Keller said. “I would say (they are) definitely heading in the right direction. It’s exciting that we have tennis players that qualify for that here.”
Sophomore biology major Allie Rae sees this as a good opportunity for the tennis teams to grow.
“I think that’s awesome. That’s so cool. I’m so proud of them,” Rae said. “I think that’s a huge step for the program.”
Official brackets for the NCAA Individual Tournament will be released Nov. 15.
