Cross Earns UTR ITA Player of the Week
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Freshman women’s tennis player, Morgan Cross was named UTR ITA Player of the Week, announced by the organization on Wednesday. Cross notched some big wins in singles and doubles last week, helping the Razorbacks to three consecutive sweeps of their opponents, Kansas, Oral Roberts and Kansas State.
Over the course of the action-packed weekend, Arkansas freshman Morgan Cross went undefeated in singles and doubles. Cross started off the weekend with a big win in doubles over No. 49 Ngounoue/Manu of Kansas. Cross and partner Spink clinched the doubles point against the Jayhawks helping the Razorbacks to a perfect 7-0 win.
The freshman also came out victorious against Kansas junior Tiffany Lagarde in a back-and-forth three-setter. After a straight-set win over Oral Roberts’ Lebedeva on Friday, Cross once again found herself in a tiebreak — this time against Kansas State’s Manami Ukita. Cross took the first set without too much trouble, but freshman Ukita bounced back in the second. Ultimately, Cross overcame Ukita in the second-set tiebreak. Through the Razorbacks’ first four matches, Cross is undefeated in singles.
The UTR ITA Player of the Week award is entering year two of being awarded. The UTR ITA Player of the Week awards program honors male and female individuals from all five divisions (NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA, and Junior College) with weekly awards during the spring dual-match season.
The ITA UTR Player of the Week honors a collegiate tennis player whose increase in UTR rating throughout the previous week was indicative of his/her high level of performance, including notable wins such as clinching matches and upsets
Cross and the rest of her teammates are taking advantage of some valuable time on the courts this week and will return to action, next Friday (Feb. 12) when they host Wichita State at 1 p.m. inside the Billingsley Tennis Center.
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).
