Women’s Tennis Team Earns Three Shutouts in Season-Opening Matches
The Razorback women’s tennis team started their season with three shutout matches in Houston last weekend. The Hogs are ranked no. 36 nationally.
This weekend featured three shutout matches for the No. 36 Arkansas women’s tennis team against Prairie View A&M and UT-Pan American Saturday and against Lamar Sunday in Houston.
The Razorbacks began their Saturday by winning every singles match and sweeping all three doubles matches to earn the doubles point against the Prairie View A&M Panthers.
Freshmen Flavia Araujo, Brittany Huxley and Segou Jonker played and won for the first time as Razorbacks. Huxley did not lose a set against the Panthers in singles play to win with a score of 6-0, 6-0.
The next match of the day was very similar to the first, with wins in all singles and two wins in the doubles matches for Arkansas.
Senior Claudine Paulson and Jonker as well as Ana Lorena Belmar Hernandez and Huxley won two of the doubles matches to earn the doubles point. Kimberely Ann-Surin and Araujo lost to UTPA in their doubles match 8-5.
“Overall I’m pleased with the level of play for our first spring dual matches,” head coach Michael Hegarty said. “It was very nice to get two solid victories on the same day and we will look to take a step forward tomorrow.”
The Razorback’s third win for the weekend and the season came the next day against Lamar.
Paulson/Jonker and Huxley/Hernandez again led the doubles matches and won two of the three for Arkansas, giving the Razorbacks the doubles point. Arkansas’ Yang Pang and Sarah McLean fell to Lamar in their doubles match 8-4.
Pang and McLean earned wins in singles, however, and Huxley, Paulson and Hernandez won all six of their matches during the weekend.
“This was an encouraging weekend overall,” Hegarty said. “Today we took some steps forward and the big thing is, we gained confidence heading into the National Indoors next weekend. All nine players won matches this weekend, so we are firing on a lot of cylinders.”
The win over Lamar gave Hegarty his 124th win in his Arkansas coaching career, which tied him with Kevin Platt for the most coaching wins in Arkansas women’s tennis history. With one more victory, Hegarty will surpass Platt for first place.
The Razorbacks will head to ITA Kickoff Friday, Jan. 25, to take on Northwestern at 11 a.m. for their first match of the weekend.
