Shkorupeieva Propels No. 18 Hogs Past Alabama
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Friday night’s match between No. 18 Arkansas and Alabama came down to the final set.
With the team score tied 3-3, Sasha Shkorupeieva pulled out a three-set win at No. 6 singles to give Arkansas a 4-3 victory over the Crimson Tide at the Alabama Tennis Stadium. Coming through in the clutch, the senior co-captain defeated Alabama’s Juliana Valero 7-5, 6-7, 6-4 as the Razorbacks improved to 16-8 overall with a 6-6 mark in Southeastern Conference play.
“Sasha has been doing this for us for four years,” head coach Michael Hegarty said. “She is such a great competitor and this year she found even new ways to help her program keep growing. I’ve seen her do this so many times, but none better than tonight. This was one of the great clutch performances we have in recent memory.”
Alabama (8-14, 2-10) won doubles, but Arkansas surged back in singles with wins on four of six courts.
After the Crimson Tide gained the early 1-0 lead, Pairone quickly tied the match 1-1 by shutting out Alabama’s Smith Hinton 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 4 singles spot. The Crimson Tide reclaimed the advantage as Andie Daniell defeated Arkansas sophomore Ana Oparenovic 6-0, 6-3 at No. 2. The Razorbacks leveled the match again at 2-2 after junior Léolia Jeanjean bested Alabama’s Danielle Spielmann 7-5, 6-2 at No. 3.
Alabama went up 3-2 behind a three-set win from No. 15 Erin Routliffe over No. 49 senior co-captain Shannon Hudson. But Arkansas freshman Natsuho Arakawa then came through in three sets against Maddie Pothoff 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 at No. 5 to tie the match at 3-3.
With all eyes on the sixth singles spot, Shkorupeivea delivered the clincher with her three-set winner.
Up Next
Arkansas will close out the regular season at No. 11 Auburn at noon Sunday.
