So far this season, the Arkansas women’s tennis team is 5-11 overall, only has one win in SEC play and is on a current six-match losing streak.
Despite this, Florida women’s tennis coach Roland Thornqvist isn’t resting easy, especially after the Gators almost lost to the Razorbacks in 2017.
“They were up 5-3 in the third [set] in the deciding match,” Thornqvist said in a release, “so we know that they are really, really good.”
Florida (12-5, 7-1 SEC) will host Arkansas (5-11, 1-6 SEC) on Thursday at 5 p.m. after coming off a road stretch that saw it play 13 of 15 matches away from Gainesville.
UF has won nine of its last 10 contests, including victories over a pair of top-15 teams in Ole Miss and Auburn.
Now, the Gators turn their attention toward the Razorbacks, a team Florida is 28-1 against all time.
Arkansas has two players featured in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s top 125 singles rankings in sophomore Giuliua Pairone and junior Ana Oparenovic. Pairone is 9-3 in dual matches this season, while Oparenovic is 8-8.
After Thursday’s contest with the Razorbacks, UF will then face Missouri (11-10, 0-7 SEC) on Saturday at 11 a.m. The Tigers are currently on a seven-match losing streak, going winless in the conference and losing six of those matches by three or more points.
Finally, UF will travel to Lake Nona, Florida, on Sunday to face off against the No. 7 Texas (13-4, 4-0 Big 12) at 5 p.m. at the USTA National Campus. This will be the Gators second time playing at the USTA Campus this year after facing Florida State there on Feb. 3. The Longhorns are currently on an eight-match winning streak and are undefeated in the Big 12.
Follow River Wells on Twitter @riverhwells and contact him at rwells@alligator.org.
Coach Roland Thornqvist said he isn't taking the Thursday matchup with 5-11 Arkansas lightly.
