No. 19 Arkansas Set For NCAA First Round
STILLWATER, Okla. – The No. 19 Arkansas women’s tennis team opens its 2017 NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championship bid Saturday against Wichita State at the Oklahoma State Regional.
First serve is slated for 9 a.m. CDT at the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center.
Arkansas is playing in its 15th NCAA Championship and owns a 15-14 mark in the Big Dance. This is the ninth appearance under head coach Michael Hegarty. The NCAA Championship field includes 15 teams Arkansas played during the regular season, including 11 from the Southeastern Conference.
The winner between the Razorbacks (17-9) and Shockers (18-8) will advance to face the winner between host and No. 9 overall seed Oklahoma State (22-5) and UMKC (13-9) in the second round on May 14 for a chance to earn a spot in the round of 16 in Athens, Georgia.
Arkansas holds a 20-1 advantage over Wichita State in the all-time series, dating back to the 1980-81 season, and defeated the Shockers earlier this spring in Fayetteville, Arkansas, by a score of 4-0.
Live Coverage
Fans can follow all the action during the NCAA Championship with live video and live scoring.
Ranked Wins
The Razorbacks have defeated 11 teams in the current national team rankings, including No. 11 Auburn, No. 20 Texas A&M, No. 21 LSU and No. 24 Tennessee.
Double-Digit Singles Wins
Five Razorbacks have posted double-digit singles wins this spring, including junior Léolia Jeanjean (17), freshman Giulia Pairone (16), freshman Natsuho Arakawa (13), junior Mia Jurasic (13) and senior co-captain Shannon Hudson (11).
In The Rankings
The Razorbacks checked in at No. 19 in the national team rankings last Thursday, marking the 10th straight week the program has been featured in the top 20.
Three players earned spots in the national singles rankings, including Hudson (No. 45), sophomore Ana Oparenovic (No. 64) and Jeanjean (No. 111). Two doubles duos were featured in the national doubles rankings, including Jeanjean/ Pairone (No. 28) and Hudson/Pairone (No. 40).
NCAA Individual Championships
The NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Subcommittee selected the 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams that will compete in the singles and doubles championships, announced last Wednesday.
Hudson earned a bid to the singles championship, marking the program’s 15th selection all-time. In addition, Oparenovic earned a spot as first alternate for the singles championship, while Hudson and Pairone were selected as first alternate for the doubles championship.
The singles and doubles championships will be conducted May 24-29 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia, after the conclusion of the team championship.
A second-team All-SEC selection and two-time SEC Player of the Week this season, Hudson has turned in 16 overall singles victories, including 11 at the No. 1 spot this spring and five against nationally ranked opponents. Five of her wins clinched team victories for the Razorbacks, with three coming in SEC play. She also posted 15 overall doubles wins, including 13 this spring, nine at the top spot and two against ranked competition.
Oparenovic is ranked No. 68 in singles with a 15-13 overall record, while Hudson and Pairone are ranked No. 38 in doubles and are 9-5 this season.
