Oparenovic, Arakawa Lead Way On Day 1

BOULDER, Colo. — The Arkansas women’s tennis team kicked off its fall season Friday at the Colorado Invite in Boulder, Colorado, and the Little Rock Classic in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The Razorbacks posted several strong showings, combining for five victories on the day.

After a first-round bye in Boulder, freshman Natsuho Arakawa earned her first collegiate victory as she defeated Georgetown’s Lily Lynham 6-3, 6-1. Arakwa is set to face Georgetown’s Sophie Barnard Saturday in the semifinal.

In Little Rock, the duo of sophomore Ana Oparenovic and junior Mia Jurasic picked up two wins in doubles, beating West Virginia’s Yvon Martinez and Carolina Lewis 6-3, before defeating Kansas’ Janet Koch and Nina Khmelnitckaia 6-4.

Oparenovic went on to defeat Khmelnitckaia 6-4, 6-3 in singles. Senior co-captain Sasha Shkorupeieva also earned a singles victory, defeating West Virginia’s Paula Goetz 6-4, 1-0 ret.

Quotable
“Obviously the highlight today was Ana and Natsuho going unbeaten, which is always a confidence builder,” head coach Michael Hegarty said. “It was also great to see Shwetha [Prabakar] back from her ACL and meniscus tears. She played some quality tennis in her first competition in almost a year. It’s hard to play well after not competing for four months, let alone a full year, so we’re proud of Shwetha.”

Colorado Invitational | Boulder, Colo. | South Campus Tennis Complex at Colorado University
First Round Singles
Solene Crawley (Colorado State) def. Shwetha Prabakar (Arkansas) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1

Second Round Singles
Natsuho Arakawa (Arkansas) def. Lily Lynham (Georgetown) 6-3, 6-1

Consolation Singles
Maggie Psyhogeos (Georgetown) def. Shwetha Prabakar (Arkansas) 6-4, 7-6 (1)

Little Rock Classic | Little Rock, Ark. | Little Rock Country Club
Doubles
Ana Oparenovic/Mia Jurasic (Arkansas) def. Yvon Martinez and Carolina Lewis (West Virginia) 6-3
Kaja Mrgole/Lyn Yuen Choo (West Virginia) def. Sasha Shkorupeieva/Peyton Jennings (Arkansas) 6-2
Ana Oparenovic/Mia Jurasic (Arkansas) def. Janet Koch and Nina Khmelnitckaia (Kansas) 6-4

Singles
Sasha Shkorupeieva (Arkansas) def. Paula Goetz (West Virginia) 6-4, 1-0 ret.
Habiba Shaker (West Virginia) def. Mia Jurasic (Arkansas) 6-1, 6-3
Ana Oparenovic (Arkansas) def. Nina Khmelnitckaia (Kansas) 6-4, 6-3
Maria Toran Ribes (Kansas) def. Myrna Olaya (Arkansas) 6-0, 6-1
Madison Tedford (TCU) def. Myrna Olaya (Arkansas) 6-4, 6-0
Caroline Wegner (TCU) def. Peyton Jennings (Arkansas) 6-2, 6-3