After leading Ole Miss to its best season in 11 years, head women's tennis coach Mark Beyers recently agreed to terms for a new four-year contract, pending approval of the Board of Trustees, State Institutions of Higher Learning.

Beyers coached the Rebels to the SEC West Championship this past season and their first NCAA Sweet 16 appearance since 1999.  The team finished ranked No. 17 in the nation, marking its first top-20 final ranking since 2000.

"Mark has the program back in the national spotlight," said Lynnette Johnson, Executive Associate Athletics Director.  "We had a phenomenal year and the program is on track to continue that excellence."

"I am extremely excited about the commitment that Pete and Lynnette have shown by allowing me the opportunity to continue to lead this program," Beyers said.   "We look forward to continuing to build on the success of the last few years and have Ole Miss be a household name in the upper echelon of women's collegiate tennis."

In addition to winning the SEC West, the Rebels earned their best overall finish (2nd) in the league since 1999 and posted their best conference record (8-3) since 2000.  They also advanced to the SEC Tournament Semifinals for the second year in a row.

Ole Miss boasted numerous individual accomplishments in 2010.  Kristi Boxx became one of only nine players in the nation to earn All-America honors in both singles and doubles.  Karen Nijssen joined her on the All-America team in doubles.  Boxx also earned All-SEC first team honors along with Connor Vogel, while Laura van de Stroet joined Nijssen on the second team.

Beyers, the ITA Southern Region Coach of the Year, earned his 100th win at Ole Miss when the Rebels shut out Georgia Tech in the NCAA second round to reach the Sweet 16. 

Since taking over the program in 2002, Beyers has coached four players to All-America honors and 10 players to All-SEC honors.

In addition to on-the-court success, Beyers' teams have been among the best in the nation academically.   In 2009, the Rebels earned the ITA All-Academic Team Award for the 13th consecutive year.   This past year the Rebels received the Chancellor's Cup for the varsity team at Ole Miss with the highest cumulative grade point average.

Ole Miss returns the majority of its lineup for the 2011 season, so fans can expect the Rebels to be contending for more championships.