Razorbacks Drop Thriller To No. 1 Florida

Box Score

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Two of the top teams in the Southeastern Conference went toe-to-toe in a thrilling match that lasted nearly four hours on Friday night at George M. Billingsley Tennis Center.

No. 18 Arkansas battled back and forth with No. 1 Florida before the Gators narrowly edged out the 4-3 victory in a contest that featured three ties and four lead changes.

“What a fantastic match,” head coach Michael Hegarty said. “I have seen great growth in our team since August, and it’s very special as a coach to see your team demanding so much from themselves. The best part for me is that we left tonight’s match feeling strong and excited for every one of these SEC matches coming up.”

Arkansas moved to 14-4 overall with a 4-2 mark in SEC action. Florida, the defending SEC champion, improved to 15-1 overall and 5-1 in league play.

The Razorbacks and Gators split the first two doubles matches. But Florida pulled off a comeback win on the deciding court to earn the extremely tight opening point.

After the Gators’ 6-1 win at No. 1, Arkansas’ duo of freshman Natsuho Arakawa and junior Léolia Jeanjean won a 7-6 (7-5) nailbiter over Gators Brooke Austin and Spencer Liang at No. 3.

The clinch came down to the No. 2 spot, where Florida’s No. 35-ranked pair of Josie Kuhlman and Belinda Woolcock rallied to edge out junior Mia Jurasic and sophomore Ana Oparenovic 7-5.

The Gators took four first sets in singles, but that wouldn’t be enough to stop Arkansas from battling back and giving itself a chance at victory.

No. 115 Oparenovic leveled the match 1-1 with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win at No. 2 singles over Florida’s No. 16 Ingrid Neel. The Gators briefly reclaimed a 2-1 lead when No. 15 Kuhlman held off Jeanjean 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 at No. 3.

The resilient Razorbacks came storming back, winning two of the next three matches. After being a set down, Jurasic prevailed over Florida’s No. 22 Anna Danilina 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 at No. 4 to tie the overall match 2-2. Florida’s No. 21 Woolcock followed with a 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) victory against Arkansas senior co-captain and 48th-ranked Shannon Hudson at the top spot that gave the Gators a 3-2 lead. Arkansas’ Arakawa then evened the score at 3-3 as she overcame a one-set deficit to claim a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 68 Liang at No. 6.

Meanwhile, Arkansas freshman Giulia Pairone and Florida’s Austin were beginning a third-set tiebreaker at No. 5 to decide the overall match. The two went back and forth and were tied 5-all before Austin got back-to-back points for the 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5) win, clinching the overall match for the Gators.

Up Next
Arkansas will remain home to host No. 24 South Carolina on Sunday. First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m.