No. 63 Women's Tennis Completes Perfect Weekend, Defeats No. 48 Northwestern

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 63 Arkansas women’s tennis team (7-3) won their fourth straight match after a 4-2 victory over Northwestern (8-4) on Sunday afternoon at Billingsley Tennis Center.

“It was a great weekend all around for our group. We have been through some tough tests early in the season that have allowed us to grow and develop to be ready for these moments,” said Arkansas head coach Tucker Clary. “We knew this weekend was a big opportunity to make a statement on our home courts against two of the most well coached groups in the country. I have the utmost respect for the jobs Todd and Claire do, respectfully. You don’t win Power Five conference titles without being elite and they have been so for a long time.”

The Hogs continued their doubles dominance, bringing home the doubles point with wins on courts one and two. Lenka Stara and Grace O’Donnell defeated Christina Hand/Sydney Pratt 6-3 on court two while Northwestern evened the score with a 6-2 victory on court three from Britany Lau/Maria Shusharina. The doubles point came down to court one as the Razorback duo of Morgan Cross/Anet Koskel clinched the point with a 7-5 win.

In singles, Arkansas climbed out to a 2-0 lead after a ranked victory from No. 88 Carolina Gomez Alonso as she cruised to a straight-set win over No. 108 Justine Leong at the No. 1 position. Gomez Alonso’s victory marks her first ranked win this spring and fourth overall this year. Northwestern’s Hand and Kiley Rabjohns claimed victories on courts three and five to tie the match at two.

The Hogs regained the lead with a hard-fought 7-6 (1), 7-6 (0) win from Kelly Keller at the No. 2 position. The Razorbacks clinched the match after another resilient 7-6 (3), 7-6 (1) victory from Cross on court four. Koskel led 3-0 in a third-set tiebreak as her match went unfinished, nearly securing a singles win on court six.

“We came out and trusted the work we’ve been putting in and it paid off in a big way,” Clary stated. “I am very proud of this group. Now we will marinate on this weekend, watch the film, and then it’s back to work this week with the beginning of conference play. Go Hogs!”

The Hogs will return to Billingsley Tennis Center next weekend to start SEC play as they host No. 16 Tennessee on Friday, Mar. 1 and No. 10 Georgia on Sunday, Mar. 3.