No. 19 Hogs Beat No. 24 Tennessee On Senior Day

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Shannon Hudson added another memorable moment to her career at Arkansas on Sunday.

And it was only fitting that it came on Senior Day at George M. Billingsley Tennis Center, where she propelled the No. 19 Razorbacks to a 4-3 victory over No. 24 Tennessee with her three-set match-clinching win at the top singles spot.

With the first two sets split, No. 51-ranked Hudson won a no-ad point to break Tennessee’s No. 58-ranked Brittany Lindl for a 5-4 lead and then held serve to close out the 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win, clinching the team victory at 4-2.

Arkansas was awarded a 4-3 victory because two match-point balls were in the air at the same time. Hudson’s victory edged by a few seconds Tennessee’s 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win from Ariadna Riley over Arkansas junior Mia Jurasic at No. 4.

“What a storybook Senior Day for Shannon and Sasha (Shkorupeieva) today,” head coach Michael Hegarty said. “To get a huge win over a tough Tennessee team will be a moment they will have forever.”

The win was the second straight for the Razorbacks (15-8, 5-6 Southeastern Conference) over the Volunteers (16-9, 3-8 SEC).

“This was a signature win as Tennessee is having a special season,” Hegarty said. “Hats off to them.”

Arkansas took the doubles point with back-to-back wins at No. 3 and No. 2. Freshman Natsuho Arakawa and junior Léolia Jeanjean cruised past Tennessee’s Riley and Johanna Silva 6-2, while Jurasic and sophomore Ana Oparenovic bested Sadie Hammond and Gabby Shuck 6-4.

In singles, Jeanjean made quick work at No. 3, rolling past Tennessee’s Hammond 6-1, 6-1 to give Arkansas a 2-0 lead.

Tennessee’s Shuck put the Volunteers on the board with a 6-2, 6-3 win against Arakawa at No. 6. Razorback freshman Giulia Pairone quickly responded, defeating Silva 6-1, 6-4 at No. 5 to give Arkansas a 3-1 advantage.

The Volunteers trimmed the deficit to 3-2 with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 win at No. 2 from Eve Repic against No. 77-ranked Oparenovic. Hudson then delivered the clincher at No. 1, before Riley earned the Volunteers’ final point at No. 4.

Up Next
Arkansas will close out the regular season with a pair of road matches. The Razorbacks will play Alabama at 3 p.m. on April 14, before they take on No. 12 Auburn at 1 p.m. on April 16.

For more information on Arkansas Women’s Tennis, follow @RazorbackWTEN on Twitter.