Razorbacks Return To Action

O’Fallon, Ill. – Coming off the program’s eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last 11 years, Arkansas women’s tennis is set to open its 2017 spring season Saturday against both Saint Louis and Southern Illinois at the St. Clair Tennis Club.

Date: Saturday, Jan. 21
First Serve: 4 p.m. CT vs. Saint Louis | 7 p.m. CT vs. Southern Illinois
Live Stats: None

Quotable
“We are excited to get the spring season underway against the Billikens,” head coach Michael Hegarty said. “Saint Louis head coach Jonathan Zych always has a very well prepared team and we will be well tested.”

The Series
The Razorbacks are 7-0 all-time against Saint Louis, dating back to 2002-03. Arkansas defeated the Billikens 5-2 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, last season. Arkansas owns a 4-0 advantage all-time over Southern Illinois, dating back to 1980-81 with the Razorbacks winning the last meeting 7-0 at home in 2015.

Hegarty At The Helm
Coach Hegarty is entering his 14th season as coach of the Razorbacks. Hegarty, who is the program’s all-time winningest coach with 179 victories, has led the Razorbacks to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, including two straight.

Season Openers
Arkansas is 34-3 (.919) in season-opening matches, including a perfect 13-0 under coach Hegarty.

The 2017 Spring Schedule
The Razorbacks’ 25-match slate features 11 home matches and 14 road tilts, including 15 matches against teams that participated in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Arkansas will welcome six opponents who were a 2016 NCAA Tournament team to the George M. Billingsley Tennis Center and will play the remaining nine on the road. The 45th season in program history will begin with five straight road contests in the month of January, before the team’s home opener on Feb. 5 at noon against Oklahoma of the Big 12.

Team Captains
Seniors Shannon Hudson and Sasha Shkorupeieva will serve as co-captains for the Razorbacks this season.

2015-16 Overview
Arkansas returns eight letter winners from its 2015-16 squad that captured 16 wins and earned the program’s 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, including its eighth during the past 11 seasons. The Razorbacks earned victories over seven teams ranked in the final national rankings, including No. 12 Auburn and No. 19 Texas A&M. Multiple Razorbacks earned individual postseason honors, including Ana Oparenovic and assistant coach Luc Godin. Oparenovic was named to the SEC All-Freshman team, while Godin was tabbed ITA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year.

Academic Success
Another successful year in the classroom led the Razorbacks to team and individual academic honors from the ITA for the 2015-16 season. The Razorbacks posted a 3.27 GPA during the 2015-16 academic year, earning the All-Academic Team award for the second straight season. Individually, five Razorbacks were each named ITA Scholar-Athletes with GPAs of at least 3.50 for the year.

Up Next
Highlighting the non-conference portion of their schedule, the Razorbacks will travel to Malibu, California, for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division I Kick-Off Weekend from Jan. 28-29, which takes place at 15 campus sites. Arkansas will compete against NC State and either No. 3 Pepperdine or UNLV. The 15 schools that win both of their matches at these events will be invited to play in the 2017 ITA National Women’s Team Indoor Championship, hosted by Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, from Feb. 10-13.

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