Arkansas Travels to Tuscaloosa for SEC Tournament

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 30 University of Arkansas women’s tennis team is only 24 hours away from its first match of the 2021 SEC tournament. Entering as the 11th seed, the Razorbacks will have a round-one rematch with the 14th-seeded Missouri Tigers.

After opening the season on a 10-match win streak, Arkansas has since dropped nine consecutive matches, rolling into Tuscaloosa at 10-9 overall and 4-9 against SEC teams. The Hogs have capitalized on their bye-week, getting plenty of rest, recovery and practice ahead of the tournament, looking for a fresh start for post-season play.

The Razorbacks are led by freshman Indianna Spink, who is ranked No. 35 in singles play, boasting a 15-6 record for her rookie campaign. Joining Spink in the rankings is new doubles duo, senior Tatum Rice and freshman Morgan Cross, coming in at number 72.

The Razorbacks and Tigers met earlier this season in late February, when Arkansas secured its ninth-straight win with a 4-2 win over Missouri in Columbia, Mo. A weather delay pushed the head coaches to agree to start with singles play, where Spink made an outstanding second-set comeback to take down Tiger Ellie Wright 6-3, 7-5 and clinch the match for the Hogs.

Arkansas has faced Missouri in its last two SEC tournament appearances, defeating the Tigers 4-1 in both 2018 and 2019. Overall, the Razorbacks are 11-28 at the SEC tournament since the conference switched from a flighted format to a team bracket in 1990.

In 2000, the SEC changed the determination of its tennis regular-season champion to the team with the best winning percentage in conference regular-season dual matches (11 matches). The team dual match format continues to provide the SEC Tournament Champion. Since 2000 when a separate tournament champion was crowned, four teams have won the SEC tournament title. Florida leads with 11 with Georgia at five, Vanderbilt at three and South Carolina with one.

The winner of Arkansas-Missouri will advance to the second round to face the sixth seed and No. 21 Auburn on Tuesday, April 20 at 6 p.m.

Fans are encouraged to visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com for the latest information on all things Arkansas Women’s Tennis. You can also find the Hogs on social media by liking us on Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Women’s Tennis) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@RazorbackWTEN).