MALIBU, Calif. — Arkansas women’s tennis defeated Arizona, 5-2, Saturday at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center to advance to the championship against No.6 Pepperdine at 3 p.m. tomorrow.
Doubles
The Razorbacks wasted no time capturing the doubles point beginning with the 34th-ranked duo of Lauren Alter and Tatum Rice.
The pair defeated Kayla Wilkins and Kristen Prelle 6-3 in the No.1 spot. Thea Rice and Laura Rijkers followed suit, clinching the doubles point 6-3 over Talya Zandberg and Abby Amos.
Martina Zerulo and Jackie Carr lost their doubles match in the No. 2 spot to Khim Iglupas and Gitte Heynemans 6-4.
Singles
In singles, Zerulo won the first point for Arkansas, taking both sets 6-3, 6-2 over Prelle on court two.
Freshman Kelly Keller took a 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) battle over the Wildcats’ Marie Van Aelst to give the Hogs a 3-1 advantage. On court one, Tatum Rice was defeated in two sets by Zandberg 6-3, 6-4. Alter was defeated by Iglupas, in a nail-biter match of 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
Carr was next to sweep both sets 6-4, 6-4 against Amos, but it was Rijkers on court six, who clinched the match against Wilkins in a tie breaker 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to lead the Hogs to a 5-2 victory.
Up next
The Razorbacks will be back on the courts on Sunday at 3 p.m. against Pepperdine.
Box Scores
Doubles Competition
1. Tatum Rice/Lauren Alter (ARK) def. Wilkins, Kayla/Prelle, Kirsten (ARIZ) 6-3
2. Iglupas, Khim/Heynemans, Gitte (ARIZ) def. Martina Zerulo/Jackie Carr (ARK) 6-3
3. Thea Rice/Laura Rijkers (ARK) def. Zandberg, Talya/Amos, Abby (ARIZ) 6-3
Singles Competition
1. Zandberg, Talya (ARIZ) def. Tatum Rice (ARK) 6-3, 6-4
2. Martina Zerulo (ARK) def. Prelle, Kirsten (ARIZ) 6-3, 6-2
3. Jackie Carr (ARK) vs. Amos, Abby (ARIZ) 6-4, 6-4
4. Iglupas, Khim (ARIZ) def. Lauren Alter (ARK) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
5. Kelly Keller (ARK) def. Van Aelst, Marie (ARIZ) 6-3, 7-6 (8-6)
6. Laura Rijkers (ARK) def. Wilkins, Kayla (ARIZ) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Match Notes:
Arizona 0-1
Arkansas Razorbacks 1-0
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,1,5,4,6)
Information from Razorback Sports Communications is included in this story.
