Razorbacks Fall To Kansas

Match Results (PDF)

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas women’s tennis team dropped a 4-1 decision to Kansas on Friday at Dills Indoor Courts.

The Razorbacks struck first with a 6-1 doubles victory from the senior duo of Makenzie Craft and Flavia Araujo on court two. Kansas leveled the playing field with a 6-2 win on court three as its team of Anastasiya Rychagova and Smith Hinton defeated Ana Oparenovic and Mia Jurasic 6-2. The doubles point then came down to court one where the KU team of Nina Khmelnitckaia and Janet Koch held off Shannon Hudson and Agne Cepelyte, 7-5, to give the Jayhawks the 1-0 lead heading into singles.

Oparenovic led off singles action with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over KU’s Khmelnitckaia on court three to tie the overall score at 1-1. The Jayhawks captured the lead when Summer Collins defeated Arkansas’ Cepelyte 6-2, 6-2 on court five. A 6-4, 6-3 win from KU’s Koch against Jurasic on court four and a 7-5, 6-2 victory from the Jayhawks’ Rychagova against Hudson at the top spot clinched the overall win. Play on courts two and six was suspended at the clinch. On court two, Craft led KU’s Hinton 4-6, 6-4, 2-1 while Sasha Shkorupeieva led the Jayhawks’ Maria Jose Cardona 7-5, 3-6, 2-0.

“The doubles point could have gone either way, so losing that was huge,” Arkansas women’s tennis head coach Michael Hegarty said. “It seemed like we were digging uphill for the majority of the singles matches. To our credit, we looked stronger as the match went on. That’s a good sign this early in the season.”

With the setback, the Razorbacks are now 2-2 on the season.

The Razorbacks return to action on Sunday for a doubleheader at Dills Indoor Courts, taking on Purdue at 11 a.m. and Saint Louis at 3 p.m.

Singles competition
1. #45 Anastasiya Rychagova (KU) def. Shannon Hudson (ARK) 7-5, 6-2
2. Makenzie Craft (ARK) vs. Smith Hinton (KU) 4-6, 6-4, 2-1, unfinished
3. Ana Oparenovic (ARK) def. Nina Khmelnitckaia (KU) 6-0, 6-4
4. Janet Koch (KU) def. Mia Jurasic (ARK) 6-4, 6-3
5. Summer Collins (KU) def. Agne Cepelyte (ARK) 6-2, 6-2
6. Sasha Shkorupeieva (ARK) vs. Maria Jose Cardona (KU) 7-5, 3-6, 2-0, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. Nina Khmelnitckaia/Janet Koch (KU) def. Shannon Hudson/Agne Cepelyte (ARK) 7-5
2. Makenzie Craft/Flavia Araujo (ARK) def. Summer Collins/Maria Jose Cardona (KU) 6-1
3. Anastasiya Rychagova/Smith Hinton (KU) def. Ana Oparenovic/Mia Jurasic (ARK) 6-2

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,5,4,1)

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