Razorbacks Drop to No. 42 Sooners
Senior Claudine Paulsen earned the team-best record of 7-1 in singles this year after coming back to win a match 6-2 against Lancaster this weekend. (Photo Courtesy of Athletic Media Relations)
In a match filled with close games, the Razorback women’s tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision to the Oklahoma Sooners.
The loss to the No. 42 Sooners is the third straight week the women’s tennis squad lost by a single point and drops them to 4-4 on the season.
Opening the day, the Hogs dropped the doubles point, losing the first two doubles matches.
Claudine Paulson and Segou Jonker faced a challenge in a match against the No. 36 doubles combination in the country of Whitney Ritchie and Hermon Brhane.
The two Hogs put up a tough match but eventually lost 9-7.
Yang Pang and Brittany Huxley forced a tiebreaker against Zita Engbroks and Whitney Wofford, but dropped a 9-8 (7-4) decision.
A doubles win did come from Kimberley-Ann Surin and Sarah McLean as they topped Mia Lancaster and Abbi Melrose 8-5.
The combination of Surin and McLean are now 2-0 this season.
“We played good doubles again,” head coach Michael Hegarty said. “There is no question that this stretch of close matches will help us grow stronger.”
The Hogs and Sooners then split the six singles matches with Paulson, McLean and Jonker winning for the Hogs.
The Sooners took a 3-0 lead after winning the first two singles matches.
Brhane, the No. 76-ranked player nationally, won against Pang in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, while Surin fell to Engbrooks in a straight set tiebreaker, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
The Hogs were down but not out and came charging back to win the next two matches to pull the score to 3-2.
Jonker won her second match of her career over Emma Divine in a three set match, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
Paulson, the lone senior on the team, won in the second spot against Lancaster, winning the first set 7-5.
After losing the second set 0-6, Paulson was able to rebound and win the match 6-2, giving her a team-best record of 7-1 in singles this year.
The Sooners were able to clinch the meet with the next match. Melrose topped Flavia Araujo in a close 6-4, 6-4 match.
Despite the loss, McLean was able to end the match on a high note for the Razorbacks. In another back and forth match, McLean topped Wofford 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
Next up for the Hogs is a weekend at home with two different matches. These will be the first home matches for the Razorbacks this spring.
On Friday, the Razorbacks will take on the Ohio State Buckeyes, followed by a match against the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes Sunday.
These two upcoming matches will also close out the nonconference portion of their schedule.
The Hogs will start Southeastern Conference play with home matches against Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
