Hogs Set to Face Grand Canyon, No. 24 Arizona State

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas women’s tennis team (3-1) hits the road again for a pair of matches in Arizona against Grand Canyon (4-1) on Thursday, February 8 and No. 24 Arizona State (4-2) on Saturday, February 10.

The Razorbacks are back in action after going 1-1 at the ITA Kickoff Weekend, where the team defeated Purdue in the opening match before falling to No. 5 Michigan. The Hogs have claimed the doubles point in each of their three victories this season in addition to No. 21 Morgan Cross/Indianna Spink picking up a ranked win over then-No. 8 Brown/Miller in their match against Michigan. Kelly Keller and Lenka Stara currently lead the team with two singles victories each.

Grand Canyon has started the season 4-1 and is coming off a 4-0 win over Fresno State on January 22. The Lopes have also earned victories over Missouri, UC Davis, and UC San Diego. Grand Canyon is led by graduate Natasha Puehse, senior Santa Strombacha, and freshman Valeriia Krokhotina, who are all 4-0 playing on courts one, two, and three, respectively. Freshman Iva Sepa is also tied for the team lead with four singles wins while competing on courts four and five this season. The duo of Puehse and Strombacha are currently 3-1 at the No. 1 position in doubles play for the Lopes.

No. 24 Arizona State is off to a 4-2 start this spring and recently split a pair of matches against Kansas and then-No. 13 Ohio State at the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Columbus, Ohio. The Sun Devils have also picked up victories over UC Davis, UC San Diego, and Fresno State. Arizona State is led by seniors No. 77 Giulia Morlet and Marianna Argyrokastriti, who both have four singles wins this year. Freshman No. 97 Emilija Tverijonaite has secured three wins on courts three and four for the Sun Devils. The tandem of junior Patricija Spaka and sophomore Chelsea Fontenel are 4-1 in doubles at the No. 1 position while Morlet and senior Rachel Hanford hold a 2-1 record on court two.

Live stats for both matches are available on the women’s tennis schedule page. There will be no live video for either match.