Lady'Backs edged in Knoxville 4-3
Knoxville, Ten. – Down 0-1 going into singles play, the University of Arkansas women’s tennis team made several runs at knocking off the 29th ranked Tennessee Lady Vols in Knoxville, Ten. Sunday afternoon.
“I’m extremely proud of our team today,” said Arkansas head coach Michael Hegarty. “We had phenomenal performances at almost ever position today.”
The No. 49 ranked doubles team in the country Freshmen Ela Kaluder and Aurelija Miseviciute continued their hot streak in doubles against No. 56 team Blakely Griffith and Victoria Jones with an 8-5 win. With the win on Sunday, Miseviciute and Kaluder have won their last six matches together dating back to the ITA National Indoor Championships on Nov. 4, 2005.
In singles, Miseviciute paced the Lady’Backs on court one to give them their first team point of the afternoon. The Klaipeda, Lituania, freshman dismantled Tennessee’s Victoria Jones in the second set to put Arkansas on the board. The win marks Miseviciute’s 20th victory in her collegiate career and is her sixth win in her last seven matches. Moreover, Miseivicute has not lost to any players ranked over 30th in the country.
Sophomore Maryori Franco came back after dropping the first set to UT’s Samantha Orlin, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4. Franco is currently on a three match winning streak.
Notching the final Arkansas point on Sunday afternoon was No. 43 freshman Ela Kaluder. Kaluder was the final match on court, ending in a 12-point tiebreaker win over Tennessee’s Blakely Griffith.
“Tennessee is a truly great and competitive opponent,” Hegarty said. “I can tell by the way we played them today that we are really starting to come along.”
Arkansas is back at home next weekend for a pair of conference matches against Vanderbilt and Kentucky on Mar. 10th and 12th, respectively. For more information on Arkansas tennis or any other Lady’Back sport, please visit LADYBACKS.COM.
Tennis Match ResultsArkansas vs. TennesseeMar 05, 2006 Knoxville, Tenn.Tennessee 4, Arkansas 3Singles competition 1. #20 Aurelija Miseviciute (AR) def. Victoria Jones (TN) 7-5, 6-22. Melissa Schaub (TN) def. Vlatka Jovanovic (AR) 2-6, 6-3, 6-43. #43 Ela Kaluder (AR) def. Blakeley Griffith (TN) 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 1-0 (10-8)4. Maryori Franco (AR) def. Samantha Orlin (TN) 2-6, 7-5, 6-45. Ghizela Schutte (TN) def. Melissa Cornett (AR) 6-0, 6-06. Stephanie Harris (TN) def. Audrey Bordeleau (AR) 6-1, 4-6, 7-5Doubles competition 1. Melissa Schaub/Ghizela Schutte (TN) def. Maryori Franco/Karina Ledaja (AR) 8-32. #49 Ela Kaluder/Aurelija Miseviciute (AR) def. #56 Blakeley Griffith/Victoria Jones (TN) 8-53. Stephanie Harris/Samantha Orlin (TN) def. Melissa Cornett/Rachel Wilhelm (AR) 8-3
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