April 19, 2018
AUBURN, Ala. - The No. 19 Auburn women's tennis team, seeded No. 6 in the SEC Women's Tennis Tournament, was eliminated from the tournament in a heartbreaking 4-2 loss to No. 11-seeded Arkansas on Thursday at Barksdale Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.
Arkansas came out blazing in doubles. The No. 40 duo of Ana Oparenovic and Tatum Rice took the first doubles set with a 6-1 win over Auburn's Alizee Michaud and Taylor Russo on court one. Agne Cepelyte and Natsuho Arakawa later clinched the point for the Razorbacks with a 6-1 win over Auburn's Andie Dikosvaljevic and Alannah Griffin on court three.
Despite losing the point, Auburn's freshman tandem of Jaeda Daniel and Madeline Meredith sustained a substantial lead of 5-2 over Arkansas' Giulia Pairone and Mia Jurasic on court two when the point was clinched.
In singles play, the match began to tighten up as four out of the six courts were determined by a third set. Arkansas carried its early success into singles by claiming the first point with a 6-4, 6-3 win from No. 89 Ana Oparenovic over Auburn's No. 49 Jaeda Daniel on court two.
Auburn senior Andie Dikosavljevic soon responded back, however, with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Arkansas' Natsuho Arakawa on court four to bring the Tigers within one. Arkansas then created separation once again with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win from No. 50 Giulia Pairone over Auburn's No. 108 Alizee Michaud on court one.
Although the Tigers were down, they were still not out as freshman Madeline Meredith brought the match to a 3-2 tally with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 win over Arkansas' Mia Jurasic on court three.
As only two courts remained, the matches were both neck and neck. Arkansas' Tatum Rice ended up clinching the match for the Razorbacks with a 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6) tiebreaker set win over Auburn's Taylor Russo on court five.
To display just how easily things could have gone the other way, not only did court five have to be determined by a tiebreaker set, but Auburn's Georgie Axon was up 3-6, 6-2, 5-3 and held a 40-15 lead over Arkansas' Jackie Carr on court six when the match was clinched.
On the positive side for the Tigers, Meredith's win was her third straight in singles, bumping her to 18-5 on the season. Dikosavljevic's win was also her third straight in singles, which moved her to 12-5 on the season.
Auburn is now 20-10 on the season, previously finishing with an 8-5 record in SEC play. The Tigers will now anticipate where they might continue postseason play in the 2018 NCAA Team Championship.
The selection show for this year's national championship field will be held on Tuesday, May 1, and it will be streamed live on NCAA.com. Auburn is expected to receive an NCAA bid for a school-record sixth consecutive season, each of which have come under coach Lauren Spencer, and the 11th time in school history.
Arkansas 4, #19 Auburn 2
Singles
1. #50 Giulia Pairone (AR) def. #108 Alizee Michaud (AUBURN) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. #89 Ana Oparenovic (AR) def. #49 Jaeda Daniel (AUBURN) 6-4, 6-3
3. Madeline Meredith (AUBURN) def. Mia Jurasic (AR) 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
4. Andie Dikosavljevic (AUBURN) def. Natsuho Arakawa (AR) 7-5, 6-3
5. Tatum Rice (AR) def. Taylor Russo (AUBURN) 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6)
6. Georgie Axon (AUBURN) vs. Jackie Carr (AR) 3-6, 6-2, 5-3, unfinished
Doubles
1. #40 Ana Oparenovic/Tatum Rice (AR) def. Alizee Michaud/Taylor Russo (AUBURN) 6-1
2. Jaeda Daniel/Madeline Meredith (AUBURN) vs. Giulia Pairone/Mia Jurasic (AR) 5-2, unfinished
3. Agne Cepelyte/Natsuho Arakawa (AR) def. Andie Dikosavljevic/Alannah Griffin (AUBURN) 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (2,4,1,3,5)