Hogs Set to Host No. 12 Florida, No. 15 South Carolina
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 51 Arkansas women’s tennis team (8-7, 1-4) concludes its three-match homestand with a pair of SEC contests at Billingsley Tennis Center this weekend. The Razorbacks face No. 12 Florida (8-7, 4-2) on Friday, March 22, at 4 p.m. and No. 15 South Carolina (11-4, 3-3) on Sunday, March 24, at noon.
The Hogs are back in action after a 4-0 sweep over Missouri this past Sunday. Arkansas claimed the doubles point after victories from Kelly Keller/Carolina Gomez Alonso on court three and No. 36 Morgan Cross/Anet Koskel in the top spot. The win for Cross/Koskel marked their second ranked victory this spring as the duo moved up 13 spots in this week’s ITA doubles rankings.
In her return to the singles lineup, No. 112 Indianna Spink won in straight sets at the No. 4 position and recently earned her spot in the latest ITA singles rankings. Gomez Alonso is coming off a straight-set win over M. Canete and now holds a career-high singles ranking of No. 31. Koskel grabbed her fourth singles win this dual season to clinch the match for the Razorbacks.
The No. 12 Gators have started the year 8-7 and are 4-2 in SEC play, defeating No. 13 Auburn and No. 17 Alabama last weekend at home. Florida is led by sophomore No. 15 Rachel Gailis and senior No. 52 Sara Dahlstrom at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions, respectively. Gailis has earned four ranked wins this spring while also leading the team with 10 singles victories. The singles lineup for the Gators also features graduate No. 84 Carly Briggs and junior Alicia Dudeney along with reigning SEC Freshman of the Week No. 109 Qavia Lopez. Gailis and Lopez lead Florida with seven doubles wins while Briggs and freshman Malwina Rowinska have six victories each.
The No. 15 Gamecocks are off to an 11-4 start this year and are 3-3 in SEC play after wins over No. 17 Alabama and No. 13 Auburn last weekend. South Carolina will play at Missouri on Friday before its match against the Hogs on Sunday. The singles lineup for the Gamecocks is headlined by graduate No. 7 Ayana Akli in the top spot and junior No. 9 Sarah Hamner on court two. The duo has a combined 19-5 singles record with seven victories over ranked opponents this dual season. Akli and Hamner have collected three doubles wins together and are ranked No. 30 in the ITA doubles rankings.
Live coverage of both matches will be provided by Cracked Racquets as part of the SEC CrossCourt whip-around broadcast streamed on SEC Network+. Live stats & video links for both matches are available on the women’s tennis schedule page.
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