Razorbacks nearly perfect against Ole Miss
OXFORD, Miss. – The 14th-ranked Razorback women’s tennis team had a near perfect day on Sunday against the No. 38 Ole Miss Rebels, winning 6-1 at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center and getting, once again, great performances out of the bottom half of their lineup.
Arkansas (13-4, 3-1 SEC) not only won the doubles point for the second straight conference match, but held Ole Miss (6-5, 1-3 SEC) to only one singles win and was able to get victories in straight sets on courts four, five, and six.
“We’re obviously thrilled to sweep on this road trip,” said Arkansas head coach Michael Hegarty. “The doubles point was such a big boost for us today. We’ve had some tremendous battles with Ole Miss in the past and today was no exception.”
The Razorbacks, who lost a heartbreaker the last time they faced Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament, dropping the match 5-2, they came out and rallied on courts one and two after losing on court three. The run began at the one spot when senior Anouk Tigu and sophomore Claudine Paulson defeated Kristi Boxx and Abby Guthrie, 8-5. That momentum shift continued to court two when juniors Kate Lukomskaya and Stephanie Roy took over Connor Vogel and Gabby Rangel, 9-7 in the only match that took an extra game to decide the victor. The win by Roy and Lukomskaya was their eighth of the season and their second straight.
With the doubles point in hand, the Hogs seemed to have gotten in a comfort zone as they were able to get two quick wins at the top spot and also at court four. Tigu won her match early in the first set by default as Kristi Boxx had to retire, giving Arkansas a quick 2-0 lead. Paulson then followed with her own win at court four, defeating Guthrie in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, good for her 18th win of the year and 10th in dual match play alone.
The Razorbacks now had a solid 3-0 lead with still four singles matches to go and Ole Miss responded well at court two with a victory, but it would be the only point for the Rebels the rest of the day as Arkansas swept the remaining three matches, including a three-set win for Roy over Caroline Rohde-Moe. Roy, who took the first set, 6-4, but really struggled in the second set, falling 0-6. With the match already decided at that point, the Canadian still was able to bounce back and take the third set, 1-0(5), for her 13th dual victory and 19th overall on the year.
The clinching point came at the No. 6 spot as freshman Jade Frampton rolled over Rangel in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, to win her 11th out of the last 12 matches. The win for Arkansas is their second over the Rebels in the last three contests that they have faced the team from Oxford.
The women’s tennis team will be back on the courts next weekend when they will face the Tennessee Lady Volunteers on Friday at the Billingsley Tennis Center and then travel to Athens, Ga. to take on the Lady Bulldogs of Georgia. Friday’s match is scheduled to start at noon. Live stats and the live blog will be available for the entirety of that match. Sunday’s match is set to begin at noon as well in Athens. For all information on the Razorback women’s tennis team, log on to ArkansasRazorbacks.com. No. 14 Arkansas 6No. 38 Ole Miss 1Complete Doubles ResultsOrder of Finish: 3, 1, 2*No. 1 Anouk Tigu/Claudine Paulson (ARK) def. Kristi Boxx-Abby Guthrie (OM) 8-5No. 2 Kate Lukomskaya/Stephanie Roy (ARK) def. Connor Vogel/Gabby Rangel (OM) 9-7No. 3 Caroline Rohde-Moe/Vivian Vlaar (OM) def. Jade Frampton/ Valentina Starkova (ARK) 8-5Complete Singles ResultsOrder of Finish: 1, 4, 2, 6*, 5, 3No. 1 Anouk Tigu (ARK) def. Kristi Boxx (OM) 2-1, ret.No. 2 Connor Vogel (OM) def. Kate Lukomskaya (ARK) 6-2, 6-1No. 3 Stephanie Roy (ARK) def. Caroline Rohde-Moe (OM) 6-4, 0-6, 1-0(5)No. 4 Claudine Paulson (ARK) def. Abby Guthrie (OM) 6-2, 6-4No. 5 Emily Carbone (ARK) def. Vivian Vlaar (OM) 6-3, 6-3No. 6 Jade Frampton (ARK) def. Gabby Rangel (OM) 6-1, 6-4
