Hogs To Close Out Regular Season
Live Scoring vs. No. 47 Ole Miss | Live Scoring vs. No. 24 Mississippi State
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 29 Arkansas women’s tennis team will play its final two matches of the regular season at home this week.
The Razorbacks (16-10, 5-6) are set to host Ole Miss (11-9, 2-9) Thursday before welcoming No. 24 Mississippi State (14-7, 5-6) Saturday. Both matches are slated for 1 p.m. at the George M. Billingsley Tennis Center.
Saturday’s match against the Bulldogs will mark Senior Day for Flavia Araujo, Nicole Breaux, Makenzie Craft and No. 27 Yuliya Lysa. The four seniors will be recognized prior to the match. Doors open at noon with the ceremony slated to begin at 12:50 p.m.
“We are excited about this pair of home matches,” head coach Michael Hegarty said. “We have been gaining steam as the spring has progressed, and we will look to take more steps forward against two excellent teams.”
Promotions
• Admission to each match is free. In addition, pizza, popcorn, Keurig hot chocolate and coffee, and Pepsi products will be provided to all fans in attendance.
• The first 100 fans at Friday’s match will receive a Razorback Tennis T-shirt and one lucky fan will win a pair of tickets to Friday’s Razorback Baseball game against No. 2 Florida.
Razorback Rundown
• Arkansas looks to rebound from a pair of 4-3 setbacks against No. 21 Kentucky and defending national champion No. 5 Vanderbilt at home last weekend.
• The Razorbacks checked in at No. 29 on Tuesday’s Oracle/ITA Division I Women’s Collegiate Tennis Rankings.
• Lysa rose to a career-best No. 27 in the singles rankings. She entered play Friday at No. 34 and extended her streak to three-straight wins by defeating Kentucky’s No. 56 Justina Mikulskyte 6-4, 6-1 and Vanderbilt’s No. 19 Sydney Campbell 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5).
• Freshman Ana Oparenovic also earned a career-best mark, checking in at No. 77 in the singles rankings.
• The tandem of Lysa and junior Shannon Hudson leaped 30 spots to No. 47 in the doubles rankings.
#RazorFacts
• Arkansas has defeated six teams in the current national rankings, including No. 26 Wichita State, No. 12 Auburn and No. 19 Texas A&M.
• The Razorbacks are 7-5 at home this season.
• Oparenovic (14-10, 4-7), Lysa (12-4, 8-3) and sophomore Mia Jurasic (13-8, 6-3) have tallied 10-plus dual-match singles wins.
• Lysa has defeated seven ranked opponents, including three in the top 25.
• Jurasic and Lysa have each won eight of their last nine singles matches.
Senior Spotlight
• Araujo has totaled 35 singles wins during her four-year career. In 2015, she earned ITA All-Academic Scholar Athlete status and was selected to the Southeastern Conference Spring Honor Roll and the SEC Women’s Tennis Community Service Team. She is a two-time recipient of the Lee Spencer Cup individual award for her distinction in the classroom, in athletic competition, in personal development and the community. In addition, she was named a 2014-15 Red Tie Honoree for the Spirit of the Razorback Award.
• Breaux has tallied 26 singles victories during her two-year career. In 2015, she was named a 2015 ITA All-Academic Scholar Athlete and earned a spot on the SEC First Year Honor Roll.
• Craft has amassed 49 singles wins during her two-year career. In 2015, she earned a spot on the 2015 SEC First Year Honor Roll.
• Lysa has turned in over 60 combined victories during her two-year career, including a 40-16 mark in singles. In 2015, she posted a 20-9 singles record en route to earning All-SEC second team honors and becoming the 12th player in program history to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championships.
The Opponent: Ole Miss
• Ole Miss is coming off a pair of 4-0 wins against Arkansas State at home Monday.
• The Rebels’ singles lineup features three players ranked in the top 125 with Arianne Hartono (13-3, 6-3) at No. 22, Natalie Suk (8-8, 2-8) at No. 80 and Mai El Kamash (9-6, 4-5) at No. 104.
• In doubles, Ole Miss is paced by the 26th-ranked duo of Hartono and El Kamash (8-6, 4-6).
• Ole Miss holds a 25-11 advantage in the all-time series, dating back to 1982. The Rebels won the last meeting 7-0 on March 6, 2015 in Oxford, Mississippi.
The Opponent: No. 24 Mississippi State
• Mississippi State defeated Ole Miss 5-2 Friday in Starkville, Mississippi.
• The Bulldogs’ singles lineup features three players ranked in the top 125 with Jasmine Lee (12-7, 5-6) at No. 14, Georgiana Patrasc (16-2, 7-2) at No. 35 and Anastasia Rentouli (13-5, 5-5) at No. 100.
• In doubles, Mississippi State is paced by its duo of Lee and Louise Ronaldson (11-3, 6-3), followed by its 31st-ranked tandem of Madison Harrison and Patrasc (8-4, 3-2).
• The Razorbacks hold a 14-10 advantage in the all-time series, dating back to 1992. The Bulldogs won the last meeting 4-1 on March 8, 2015 in Starkville, Mississippi.
Up Next
• Following Saturday’s regular-season finale against the Bulldogs, Arkansas will turn its attention to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the 2016 SEC Championship, April 20-24. The Razorbacks will learn their seeding for the conference tournament Sunday.
For more information on Arkansas Women’s Tennis, follow @RazorbackWTEN on Twitter.
