UA Women's Tennis and the blustery day

Flushing, N.Y.—The University of Arkansas women’s tennis team battled skilled competition and horrendous conditions to thrive in the third day of action at the USTA Collegiate Classic in Flushing New York. The Lady’Backs competed in seven unflighted singles matches in 25+ mile per hour winds, six of which came against top-15 University of Kentucky. An extremely focused Arkansas lineup finished 3-3 against their Southeastern Conference foe. After going 14-10 in singles and 4-4 in doubles, the Lady’Backs finished the long weekend in the Empire State 21-18, to give them a 78-46 record for the fall of 2004. Junior Karina Ledaja notched her third victory of the weekend against UK’s Danielle Petrisko. Ledaja lost the first set 6-3, but clawed her way back in the second to a 7-5 victory. The match was forced to a 10-point super tiebreaker, which Ledaja used to her advantage, winning 10-7 victory. “I felt great about my comeback today. I never though I was out of it at any moment,” said Ledaja. The win gives Ledaja her ninth win of the fall, and is her fourth singles win in her last five efforts. Iliana Pacheco rolled to victory over Wildcat Emily Foster. The senior Lady’Back won in straight sets, pasting her conference rival, 6-1, 6-3. The victory is Pacheco’s fifth this fall and is her second straight victory against Kentucky. “Playing at the US Open was an incredible experience and I will cherish it,” said Pacheco. Yawna Allen bounced back after going 0-2 on the first day of the Classic. The young freshman showed composure beyond her years in a grueling three-set battle against UK’s Lara Maurer. Down after losing the first set, 4-6, Allen fought back in the second for a 6-3 victory. In day’s most exciting finish, Allen denied three Maurer match points before winning the super tiebreaker and the match 13-11. “Yawna’s match typified our overall team spirit today,” said head coach Michael Hegarty. “While Kentucky was not at full strength, neither were we. This is an encouraging result as we head into our critical region event.” Coming up short for the Lady’Backs on Monday was freshman Audrey Bordeleau. The Quebec City, Canada, native posted a match point of her own before falling to UK’s Liis Sober in the all-important ten-point tiebreaker 4-6, 6-0, 12-10. UK’s Joelle Scwenk defeated Vlatka Jovanovic 7-6, 6-1. Christine Simpson defeated Whitney Morton 6-4, 6-3. In another unflighted match, Melissa Cornett was defeated 6-2, 6-3 byHarvard’s Eva Wang. “We improved a tremendous amount this weekend and it was a treat for the players to play on the very court that hosts the US Open Championships,” Hegarty said. The Lady Razorbacks return to the hill for a week and a half of practice before once again playing in regional competition at the ITA Central Regional Championships at the University of Tulsa on Oct 21-24. For more information on Lady’Back tennis, please visit www.ladybacks.com.ResultsOctober 11, 2004Day Three – USTA Collegiate ClassicFlushing, New YorkKarina Ledaja (Arkansas) def. Danielle Petrisko (Kentucky) 3-6, 7-5, 10-7Iliana Pacheco (Arkansas) def. Emily Foster (Kentucky) 6-1, 6-3Yawna Allen (Arkansas) def. Lara Maurer (Kentucky) 4-6, 6-3, 13-11Liis Sober (Kentucky) def. Audrey Bordeleau (Arkansas) 4-6, 6-0, 12-10Joelle Schwenk (Kentucky) def. Vlatka Jovanovic (Arkansas) 7-6, 6-1Christine Simpson (Kentucky) def. Whitney Morton (Arkansas) 6-4, 6-3Eva Wang (Harvard) def. Melissa Cornett (Arkansas) 6-2, 6-3