Hogs travel for back-to-back road matches in Texas

Houston, Texas — The No. 18 University of Arkansas women’s tennis team (6-1) will stay on the road this weekend, beginning in Houston, Texas for a matchup against the No. 67 Rice Owls (7-1) on Saturday at 11 a.m. Then on Sunday, the Hogs will make a trip over to Fort Worth, Texas to face No. 27 TCU (1-3) for a noon match.
Arkansas turned in its sixth victory of the season with a road win over No. 35 Tulsa at the Michael D. Case Center in Tulsa, Okla. With the match on the line, Stephanie Roy turned in her best singles performance as Razorback, defeating Anastasia Erofeeva in a third set to clinch a 4-3 win over the Hurricanes.
“We showed we can pull out of those tight situations successfully,” head coach Michael Hegarty said. “It was the kind of match that should keep our team rolling in a good direction and gives us a lot confidence as we continue to move through a challenging schedule.”
In the latest ITA national individual rankings Anouk Tigu was slated in the Top-100, ranked No. 62 in the nation. Tigu has shown must success at the No. 1 singles position compiling a 4-2 record this season, including a win over No. 14-ranked Venise Chan of Washington in a third set.
“We bounce right back this weekend on the road again with Rice and TCU,” Hegarty said. “Both team having really good seasons already.”
Rice moved into the national team rankings this week to No. 67 after a strong showing with wins over Texas Tech and No. 54-ranked Arizona at home last weekend. The Owls lone loss this season under head coach Elizabeth Schmidt was to Pepperdine, 5-2. Rice has two players listed in the rankings, No. 63 Rebekka Hanle and No. 100 Jessica Jackon. In doubles, the Owls are led by the No. 37-ranked duo of Julie Chao and Ana Guzman.
In their last meeting, Arkansas rounded TCU, 4-3 at the Dills Indoor Tennis Center in Fayetteville. The Horned Frogs are looking to bounce back after falling 7-0 to No. 30 SMU on Wednesday at the Bayard H. Freidman Tennis Center in Dallas, Texas. Leading the Horned Frogs in the rankings is No. 56 Katariina Touhimaa, No. 63 Kayla Duncan and No. 124 Megan Alexander. In the doubles rankings TCU boast three teams in the top 60.