Lady'Backs to Honor Pacheco Saturday
FAYETTEVILLE— Senior Iliana Pacheco graces the UA Varsity Courts one last time on Saturday as the University of Arkansas women’s tennis team wraps up its regular season against LSU at 1:00 pm. A four-year player who originally hails from Mexico City, Mexico, Pacheco has proven her reliability on the court with over 120 singles matches played in cardinal and white. “It’s been a pleasure to coach Iliana for the past two seasons, she’s had some big singles victory over teams like Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and mostly recently in our victory over Auburn last weekend,” said head coach Michael Hegarty. Pacheco has played in every Arkansas dual match for the last two years, playing everywhere from line two to court six. Pacheco’s game was lifted to a new level this season with three three-match winning streaks. She led the team last fall at the 2004 ITA Central Regional Championships in Tulsa, Okla., advancing to the round of 32. On the doubles court, Pacheco is one of the most versatile players on the team, competing with four different teammates this year alone. Pacheco and the rest of the Lady’Backs welcome a competitive LSU team after capturing their first Southeastern Conference win in three and a half years over Auburn last weekend, 5-2. The Lady’Backs lost the doubles point in a nail biter, but rebounded to win five of six singles matches to clinch the win. After the match, head coach Michael Hegarty said he thought this Lady’Back team was much better than their record advertised. “We will be definitely using the momentum from last Sunday to hopefully give us a boost tomorrow,” Hegarty said. LSU comes to Senior Day ranked 42nd in the country with an 11-9 overall record and a 3-7 mark in SEC play. The Tigers picked up two key conference wins last weekend over Auburn and Alabama last weekend, but were shutout 7-0 on Wednesday by an underrated Tulane team. Match time is set for 1:00 pm. Live scoring is available. For more information about Lady’Back tennis or any other Lady Razorback sport, please visit www.ladybacks.com
