Alabama
University of Arkansas
Alabama Women’s Tennis Wraps Up Four-Match Road Swing at Arkansas and Missouri
4/5/2018 10:01:00 AM | Women's Tennis
The Crimson Tide will face the Razorback on Friday at 5 p.m. CT, and will battle the Tigers on Sunday at noon CT
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama women's tennis team will wrap up its road slate this weekend when it faces Arkansas on April 6 at 5 p.m. CT and Missouri on April 8 at noon CT.
LAST TIME ON THE COURT
The Crimson Tide came up short in two matches last week, falling to then-No. 8 Georgia, 4-0, on Thursday, and dropping a hard-fought match against then-No. 38 Tennessee, 4-2.
Junior Andie Daniell and senior Smith Hinton highlighted singles play against the Volunteers as Daniell took down Sadie Hammond, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 1, while Hinton took care of Elizabeth Profit in the same fashion, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 2.
CRIMSON TIDE NOTABLES
Daniell continues to dominate the field, as she leads the team with a 14-6 mark in dual play at No. 1, while Hinton has won 11 singles matches. In doubles play, Hinton and sophomore Jacqueline Pelletier have led the charge with a 9-4 record, including an 8-4 mark at No. 3.
Alabama started the season with a nine-match winning streak, which was the best start in program history since 2009.
IN THE RANKINGS
Daniell surged back onto the Oracle/ITA Division I Women's Singles Rankings on Tuesday, landing at No. 91 with a 5.97 average. The Douglasville, Ga., native first appeared on the computerized rankings on Feb. 20 at No. 118 with a 4.93 average, and later slipped to No. 124 with a 5.07 average on March 6.
Alabama women's tennis was featured on the Oracle/ITA Division I Women's Team computerized rankings for three-straight weeks this season. The Crimson Tide landed at No. 49 with a 14.00 average on March 6 and came in at No. 37 with a 17.75 average on Feb. 27. The Crimson Tide earned its highest rank at No. 31 with a 20.41 average in the first computerized rankings on Feb. 20.
SERVING UP 2018
Alabama opened its spring season on Jan. 13 after a successful fall slate, where the Crimson Tide competed in three tournaments, including the 30th Annual Roberta Alison Fall Classic at the end of October.
Alabama returns three letterwinners and welcomes five newcomers, including four transfers, to 2018.
Daniell comes back to the Capstone as the Tide's top player, and ranked as high as No. 89 this season in the ITA singles national rankings (Feb. 7). Daniell opened the fall season ranked at No. 37 on the ITA preseason list and finished fall play, 9-2, defeating one ranked opponent (No. 45 Lindsey Hodge, Rice University), while reaching the semifinal round of the 2017 ITA Southern Regional Championships. On March 6, Daniell ranked at No. 124 with a 5.07 average and came in at No. 118 with a 4.93 average on Feb. 20 on the Oracle/ITA computerized singles rankings.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT – ARKANSAS
Friday's match will mark the 33rd meeting between the two conference squads, and Alabama leads the series, 21-11. In the last meeting, the 18th-ranked Razorbacks edged the Crimson Tide, 4-3, on April 14, 2017. Alabama's last victory over UofA came on April 10, 2015, when the Tide downed Arkansas 5-2 in Tuscaloosa.
Arkansas enters Friday's contest with a 5-13 overall record, while sitting 12th in the league standings with a 1-8 mark.
In singles, Giulia Pairone leads the Razorbacks with a 9-4 mark in dual play while Ana Oparenovic sits second with an 8-8 record. In doubles, the pairings of Oparenovic/Rice and Jurasic/Pairone both own a combined 22 wins.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT – MISSOURI
Sunday's match will mark the seventh meeting between Alabama and Missouri, and the Crimson Tide leads the series, 4-2. Last year, Alabama fell to the Tigers, 4-3, on April 16, 2017. The Tide's last win over Missouri came in a 4-0 decision on April 20, 2016.
The Tigers enter Sunday's contest with an 11-12 record and a 0-9 mark in SEC play.
Mackenz Middlebrooks leads the Tigers in singles with a 12-4 record in dual play, including an undefeated mark at No. 3, 7-0, and No. 4, 5-0. In doubles, the team of Middlebrook/Wright sport a 15-3 record in the spring at No. 3.
COMING UP
Alabama concludes its regular season with a pair of matches at the Alabama Tennis Stadium. The Crimson Tide will face No. 37 LSU on April 13 at 5 p.m. CT, and will wrap up its regular-season slate against No. 33 Texas A&M on April 15 at 1 p.m. CT. Alabama women's tennis will recognize Smith Hinton for Senior Day during the match against the Aggies.
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaWTN on Twitter and Facebook and AlabamaWTN on Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
