Hogs Fight Back, Narrowly Lose to Jayhawks

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Arkansas women’s tennis team (3-3) dropped its match to Kansas (6-1), falling 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at Jayhawk Tennis Center.

The Razorbacks took the lead after grabbing the doubles point with wins on courts one and two. The Hogs struck first as Olga Bienzobas and Carolina Gomez claimed a 7-5 victory over Jasmine Adams and Kyoka Kubo. No. 66 Anet Koskel and Grace O’Donnell forced a tiebreak on court one, ultimately winning 7-6 (4) over No. 52 Gracie Mulville and Heike Janse Van Vuuren to clinch the doubles point for Arkansas. The match on court three did not finish, ending at 5-5.

The Jayhawks started off strong in singles play, winning the first set on all six courts. Kansas’ first point came on court three, where Kubo bested Koskel in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. The Jayhawks sustained their momentum after victories on courts one and six to give Kansas a 3-1 lead. O’Donnell defeated Jasmine Adams 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to bring the Hogs within one. Pavlechova battled back after dropping the first set to force a third, but eventually came up short as she fell to Ben Ezzedine Meriem, 4-6, 6-1, 5-7, to secure the match for the Jayhawks. The final match was played out as Bienzobas defeated Maria Titova in a third-set tiebreak, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (5).

The Hogs will return to Billingsley Tennis Center next week to host Oklahoma in their first SEC contest of the season on Saturday, February 22 at 4 p.m.

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