Arkansas Women’s Tennis Gets Ready for Three-Match Weekend

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas women’s tennis team continues its eight-game home stint this weekend, when the Razorbacks host Kansas, Oral Roberts and Kansas State (Jan 29-31). All three matches will take place at the Billingsley Tennis Center.

Arkansas is headed into the weekend after making a statement in its 2021 season opener on Sunday (Jan. 24), defeating the SMU Mustangs, 5-2. Razorbacks Kelly Keller and Tatum Rice defeated SMU pair Hadley Doyle and Nicole Petchey (6-3) to clinch the doubles point for the Hogs. Keller highlighted Arkansas’ singles lineup, defeating SMU’s Claudia Bartolome in the number two spot (6-3, 6-2) to put Arkansas up 3-0 and one point away from securing the match victory.

vs Kansas | Friday, Jan. 29 | 1:00 p.m. CT

The Jayhawks are slotted in at No. 25 in the preseason ITA Top 25, released earlier this month. Kansas finished the 2019-20 season at No. 31 going 7-4 last year in an abbreviated season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the team being ranked 25th, Sonia Smagina comes in at No. 81 in the individual rankings, while the doubles team of Malkia Ngounoue and Carmen Roxana Manu is ranked No. 49 in the preseason rankings.

vs Oral Roberts | Friday, Jan. 29 | 6:00 p.m. CT

The Golden Eagles travel to Fayetteville after dropping their season opener to Oklahoma, 7-0 on Jan. 16. Oral Roberts was voted fifth in the 2021 Summit League women’s tennis preseason poll.

 vs Kansas State | Sunday, Jan. 31 | 1:00 p.m. CT

The Wildcats finished off the 2020 spring slate at 8-4 – including a 2-1 mark against Big 10 opponents. K-State’s roster features a trio of juniors in Maria Linares, Anna Turco and Karine-Marion Job along with senior Margot Decker to provide a ton of firepower to the team’s No. 1-4 spots in the singles lineup. Last year, Linares (8-3), Decker (8-4), Turco (6-4) and Job (6-1) combined for nearly 30 victories on the season.

Fans can follow along with the action all weekend by watching the Razorbacks live on our PlaySight video stream which is free for all fans.

Fans are encouraged to visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com for the latest information on all things Arkansas Women’s Tennis. You can also find the Hogs on social media by liking us on Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Women’s Tennis) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@RazorbackWTEN).