Arkansas suffers defeat at hands of Auburn

FAYETTEVILLE – The 34th-ranked Razorback women’s tennis team lost its second conference match of the season Friday afternoon, dropping a 5-2 match to the 75th-ranked Auburn Tigers at the Billingsley Tennis Center. Playing in its first match outdoors this year, the women had a rough start losing the doubles point and then did not have enough in the singles matches to claim the come-from-behind victory.

Arkansas did see wins from senior Stephanie Roy and sophomore Laurie Gingras at the three and six spots respectively, but they would be the only offense that the Razorbacks could muster as Auburn went on to win four out of the six singles courts, including the final match at court one, which went to three sets. With the loss, Arkansas falls to 8-5 on the year, while Auburn moves up to 7-4.

“I was pleased with our efforts overall,” Arkansas head coach Michael Hegarty said. “We really struggled with our doubles and that made a big difference in the overall result.”

Things looked to be going Arkansas’ way in the early goings of the doubles matches as the Razorbacks had early leads at courts one and two. However, as the matches continued, only one of those courts stayed in Arkansas’ favor as seniors Roy and Emily Carbone defeated Olivia Bennett and Jen Pfeifler, 8-4, for their 13th win of the year. Shortly before that, Auburn won at court three, which meant the doubles point came down to the top court. 

For the majority of the match, games were traded back and forth until Auburn broke the Razorback serve to take the lead for good late in the match. The Tigers went on to win the match, 8-6, and take the opening doubles point.

In singles, it looked as if Arkansas was going to re-take the momentum after Gingras defeated Taylor Schreimann in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, at court six. Gingras now has 13 wins overall this year and remains second on the team in total wins. However, the Tigers answered right back with a win from their lone ranked player, No. 125 Olivia Bennett. Bennett defeated freshman Catherine Parenteau, 6-1, 6-2, to give Auburn the 2-1 team lead. 

Much like the rest of the matches, everything was being won in straight sets as court two finished shortly after court five. Unfortunately for Arkansas, its quick finish was another loss in the Razorbacks’ column and put them in a tough 3-1 hole.

The women’s tennis team showed some renewed life after Roy ousted Plamena Kurteva at court three, 6-4, 6-3, for her eighth win this year and second in a row, but it was all Auburn from there on out as the Tigers continued on to clinch the match at court four and then add the fifth point at court one with a three-set winner.

Arkansas will continue the home stand this Sunday as they host the Alabama Crimson Tide at the Billingsley Tennis Center. First serve is scheduled for noon and live stats and the live blog will be available for the match. Whether the match will be played indoors or outdoors will be determined the day of the match. A full recap and complete results will be posted online following the day’s play.

Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1*

No. 1 Emily Flickinger/Jackie Kasler (AUB) def. Claudine Paulson/Laurie Gingras (ARK) 8-6

No. 2 Emily Carbone/Stephanie Roy (ARK) def. Olivia Bennett/Jen Pfeifler (AUB) 8-4

No. 3 Plamena Kurteva/Taylor Schreimann (AUB) def. Kate Lukomskaya/Catherine Parenteau (ARK) 8-2

Order of Finish: 6, 5, 2, 3, 4*, 1

No. 1 Jen Pfeifler (AUB) def. Emily Carbone (ARK) 5-7, 7-5, 1-0(7)

No. 2 Emily Flickinger (AUB) def. Claudine Paulson (ARK) 6-3, 6-3

No. 3 Stephanie Roy (ARK) def. Plamena Kurteva (AUB) 6-4, 6-3

No. 4 Jackie Kasler (AUB) def. Kate Lukomskaya (ARK) 7-5, 6-4

No. 5 #125 Olivia Bennett (AUB) def. Catherine Parenteau (ARK) 6-1, 6-2

No. 6 Laurie Gingras (ARK) def. Taylor Schreimann (AUB) 6-2, 6-2