Lukomskaya clinches tough match for Hogs

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Junior Kate Lukomskaya had to play up a spot on Friday afternoon in singles as well as the rest of the 21st-ranked Razorback women’s tennis team, but the team was able to gut out a tough 4-3 victory over No. 37 Tulsa at the Dills Indoor Courts in Fayetteville. The Hogs, who found themselves in an early hole after losing the doubles point, rallied to win four of the six singles matches, three of which were won in straight sets.

With the win, Arkansas (6-1) gets a nice bounce back victory after falling to Oklahoma a week ago and wins their second straight 4-3 victory over the Golden Hurricane in the last two years. Tulsa (5-2), on the other hand, loses the second of their last three matches.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our effort today, especially in singles,” said Arkansas head coach Michael Hegarty. “Tulsa competes so well, and we were fortunate to come out on top today against a good team.”

The day began in doubles, where the Hogs, once again, struggled to really get any momentum going, dropping the first two matches at courts two and three, giving Tulsa the important doubles point. The Hogs didn’t leave doubles empty-handed, however, as the team of senior Anouk Tigu and sophomore Claudine Paulson continued their big start to the spring season with a win over Alexandra Kichoutkin and Jo-Anne Karatiana, 8-3. That win keeps the Razorback tandem undefeated on the spring at 7-0.

Moving over into singles, the Hogs had to play without their top player in Tigu. That made for tall order as every player needed to play up a position as well as win four of the six singles matches to earn the victory. It didn’t take long before freshman Jade Frampton won the first match for the Razorbacks at court five over Sam Vickers, 6-3, 6-2, good for her fourth win of the spring. That win tied things up in the overall match, 1-1.

Tulsa responded back with a win at court six to regain the lead, but the Hogs continued to have a strong singles showing as Paulson defeated Anastasia Erofeeva in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6(4). That win gives Paulson now 12 for the year and pushed the Hogs even with the Golden Hurricane at two a piece. The Hogs found themselves only two match wins away from the victory and junior Emily Carbone continued the Razorback rally on court three as she defeated the 112th-ranked Karatiana, also in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(9).

The Razorbacks needed only one more win to secure the victory and Lukomskaya probably had the toughest match out of the bunch. After losing the first set, 2-6, the junior turned the second set on its end to win 6-3 and take the match to a deciding third set. Of course, like the close match that it was, it would be decided in a tie-breaker. Lukomskaya would eventually come out on top, 7-6(6) to earn her second victory of the spring and break a five-match losing streak. The streak buster couldn’t have come at a better time as the win gave Arkansas the fourth point they needed for the win.

The women’s tennis team will be back in action on Sunday when they take on Texas Tech at the Billingsley Tennis Center. First serve is set for 2 p.m. For complete coverage of the match as well as the live blog and complete results, log on to ArkansasRazorbacks.com. Complete Match ResultsNo. 37 Tulsa 3No. 21 Arkansas 4Complete Doubles ResultsOrder of Finish: 3, 2*, 1No. 1 Anouk Tigu/Claudine Paulson (ARK) def. Alexandra Kichoutkin/Jo-Ann Karatiana (TUL) 8-3No. 2 Ewa Szatkowska/Anastasia Erofeeva (TUL) def. Kate Lukomskaya/Stephanie Roy (ARK) 8-3No. 3 Bonny Davidson/Michelle Farley (ARK) def. Kelsey Sundaram/Jade Frampton (ARK) 8-3Singles Results: Order of Finish: 5, 6, 2, 3, 1*, 4 No. 1 Kate Lukomskaya (ARK) def. Alexandra Kichoutkin (TUL) 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(6)No. 2 Claudine Paulson (ARK) def. Anastasia Erofeeva (TUL) 6-4, 7-6(4)No. 3 Emily Carbone (ARK) def. Jo-Ann Karatiana (TUL) 6-3, 7-6(9)No. 4 Ewa Szatkowska (TUL) def. Stephanie Roy (ARK) 3-6, 7-6(4), 2-3 (ret.)No. 5 Jade Frampton (ARK) def. Sam Vickers (TUL) 6-3, 6-2No. 6 Michelle Farley (TUL) def. Valentina Starkova (ARK) 6-0, 6-2