Lady'Backs shutout Auburn at home
The University of Arkansas women’s tennis continued its Southeastern Conference winning streak on Friday afternoon in the Dills Indoor Tennis Center with a 7-0 win over the Auburn Tigers.
The Lady Razorbacks (8-8, 4-5) have now won four straight SEC matches with their second straight victory over the Tigers (5-14, 0-9). The shutout win is Arkansas’ first since the 1999 spring season in a 6-0 win at home against Auburn.
“It’s really nice to be our stride like we are now,” said Arkansas head coach Michael Hegarty.
The Lady’Backs began the afternoon by winning their ninth doubles point of the spring season. Arkansas is 6-3 now this season when winning the doubles point. What made Friday afternoon’s doubles interesting came on court three after the Lady’Backs had already locked the doubles point victory. Down 4-7, seniors Melissa Cornett and Vlatka Jovanovic turned a corner to win the match in a tiebreaker, 8-6, to give Arkansas the doubles sweep.
Freshman pair Aurelija Miseviciute and Ela Kaluder continued to play well on court one as they cruised past Auburn’s Alex Haney and Ashley Cowart, 8-2, for their fourth SEC win of the year together.
Sophomore Maryori Franco and senior Karina Ledaja locked the doubles point in Arkansas’ direction with an 8-3 win on court two over AU’s Dzeljan Memisi and Irina Pljusznyin. The Lady’Back pair leads the team with six SEC dual match doubles wins.
In singles, the Lady’Backs as a team only gave up seven games total as a team in all six first sets.
Cornett carried the momentum gained from her doubles match into her singles against Memisi. The Little Rock, Ark., native was off court five in under an hour with a 6-1, 6-0 win.
Minutes later, Miseviciute gave the Lady’Backs a 3-0 advantage on centre court with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Haney. The win gives Miseviciute her team-leading sixth SEC win this spring and fourth in a row.
Franco was next on court four as she captured win for Arkansas with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Pljusznyin.
Pending an Alabama win today at LSU, the Lady’Backs could play for the Western Division title on Sunday, April 9, against the Crimson Tide at the Wal-Mart Life and Fitness Center in Bentonville. Match time is set for 1:00 p.m.
“We are going to expect our best effort of the season this Sunday for our senior against Alabama,” Hegarty said.
For more information on Arkansas tennis or any other Lady Razorback sport, please visit LADYBACKS.COM.
Tennis Match Results:
Friday, April 07, 2006
Dills Indoor Tennis Center
Fayetteville, AR
Singles:
1. Aurelija Miseviciute (UA) def. Alex Haney (AU) 6-0, 6-1
2. Vlatka Jovanovic (UA) def. Whitney Chappell (AU) 6-1, 6-3
3. Ela Kaluder (UA) def. Ashley Cowart (AU) 6-2, 7-6(2)
4. Maryori Franco (UA) def. Irina Pljusznyin (AU) 6-2, 6-0
5. Melissa Cornett (UA) def. Dzeljan Memisi (AU) 6-1, 6-0
6. Karina Ledaja (UA) def. Erin Gray (AU) 6-1, 7-6(3)
Doubles
1. Aurelija Miseviciute/Ela Kaluder (UA) def. Ashley Cowart/Alex Haney (AU) 8-2
2. Karina Ledaja/Maryori Franco (UA) def. Dzeljan Memisi/Irina Pljusznyin (AU) 8-3
3. Melissa Cornett/Vlatka Jovanovic (UA) def. Whitney Chappell/Erin Gray (AU) 8-7 (6)
