Hudson, Pairone Bound For Sweet 16

NCAA Championship Central

ATHENS, Ga. – In their first ever NCAA doubles championship appearance, Arkansas’ No. 40-ranked duo of senior co-captain Shannon Hudson and freshman Giulia Pairone took down Oklahoma State’s No. 13-ranked pair of Vladica Babic and Carla Tur Mari 7-5, 6-1 on Thursday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex to advance to the round of 16.

“We obviously got a great look at Oklahoma State last week and that definitely helped us in today’s match,” head coach Michael Hegarty said. “Tomorrow is another great opportunity and we are excited for the challenge.”

After Hudson and Pairone took the first set and a 2-0 lead in the second set, Babic and Tur Mari picked up their lone game of the match. Hudson and Pairone went on to win the next four games for the set and match victory.

With the win, Hudson and Pairone improved to 10-5 this season.

This is the first Arkansas doubles team to advance to the round of 16 since Anouk Tigu and Claudine Paulson in 2011.

Up Next
Hudson and Pairone will take on defending doubles national champions Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan of Florida at 2 p.m. CT Friday.

Live Coverage
Live scoring and video of Thursday’s match will be available here.