@RazorbackWTEN Takes Down Tulsa, 5-2
TULSA, Okla. – In a match that lasted nearly four hours, the No. 46 Arkansas women’s tennis team picked up a 5-2 win over Tulsa Tuesday evening on the outdoor courts at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
With the win, the Razorbacks improved to 13-9 overall and picked up their first road victory of the season, while the Hurricane fell to 11-8 on the year.
“So proud of the growth in our team,” said head coach Michael Hegarty. “Ever since the Oklahoma State weekend we seem to have gotten stronger and stronger and today was another example of that development. Full credit to Tulsa as there are few programs that we respect more than them.”
Both teams had 21 mile per hour winds to deal with to begin the match.
The Golden Hurricane took two out of the three doubles matches to earn the early 1-0 lead. Yuliya Lysa and Shannon Hudson took the first doubles match at the number one spot, 6-2, over Ksenia Laskutova and Renata Kuricova. Mahitha Dadireddy and Saana Saarteinen evened the score (1-1) after defeating Sasha Shkorupeieva and Flavia Araujo, 6-2, at No. 3. The number two doubles showdown looked to be a lock for Tulsa, but Makenzie Craft and Mia Jurasic cut a 5-2 deficit to 5-4. However, the Tulsa duo of Marcelina Cichon and Rongrong Leenabanchong clinched the point for TU, winning 6-4 on court two.
Kuricova gave Tulsa a 2-0 lead, after taking the first singles match of the evening. She topped Peyton Jennings, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 6. Sasha Shkorupeieva picked up a point for the Razorbacks earning a 7-5, 6-3 win over Saarteinen on court five.
The Razorbacks evened the match (2-2) after Flavia Araujo took down Yelena Nemchen in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3, at No. 4. Arkansas took the lead at the three and a half hour mark in the match, when Yuliya Lysa outlasted Laskutova, 7-6(4), 6-7(2), 6-2, from the top singles spot.
Arkansas clinched the match after Makenzie Craft took a three-set battle from Cichon, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4. The Razorbacks also won the final point of the day, when Shannon Hudson topped Leenabanchong, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-2, to give the visitors a 5-2 victory.
The Razorbacks return to the court on Wednesday at 6 p.m., when they battle Oral Roberts in double header action at Bixby HS in Bixby, Okla.
No. 46 Arkansas 5, Tulsa 2
March 24, 2015 at Tulsa, Okla. (Michael D. Case Tennis Center)
Doubles (Order of Finish: 1,3,2*)
1. Lysa/Hudson (ARK) def. Laskutova/Kuricova (TU), 6-2
2. Cichon/Leenabanchong (TU) vs. Craft/Jurasic (ARK), 6-4
3. Dadireddy/Saarteinen (TU) def. Shkorupeieva/Araujo (ARK), 6-2
Singles (Order of Finish: 6,5,4,1,3*,2)
1. Yuliya Lysa (ARK) def. Ksenia Laskutova (TU), 7-6(4), 6-7(2), 6-2
2. Shannon Hudson (ARK) def. Rongrong Leenabanchong (TU), 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-2
3. Makenzie Craft (ARK) def. Marcelina Cichon (TU), 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4
4. Flavia Araujo (ARK) def. Yelena Nemchen (TU), 7-6(6), 6-3
5. Sasha Shkorupeieva (ARK) def. Saana Saarteinen (TU), 7-5, 6-3
6. Renata Kuricova (TU) def. Peyton Jennings (ARK), 6-4, 6-4
