Feb. 25, 2010

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis women's tennis team will play three matches this weekend on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville, Ark.

On Fri., Feb. 26, the Lady Tigers will face-off with the Arkansas Razorbacks, currently ranked No. 20 in the nation according to the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, at 12 p.m., at the Dills Indoor Tennis Courts. Memphis will play two more matches on Sat., Feb. 27, taking on No. 35 Oklahoma at 9 a.m., at the Dills Indoor Tennis Courts, and Arkansas Tech at 2:30 p.m., at the Billingsley Tennis Center.

"The great thing about our schedule is the opportunities for our team and individuals to break through continue until the end of the season," said Memphis head coach Lee Taylor Walker. "We have three tough opponents this weekend that will require a total effort from each and every player."

Memphis enters this weekend's matches with an overall record of 5-8. The Lady Tigers are coming off two hard-fought losses over the weekend in the state of Florida. Memphis lost 7-0 to No. 29 USF on Saturday, and 6-1 to Conference USA rival UCF on Saturday.

In singles, the Lady Tigers continue to be led by Ashley Murdock and Courtney Collins at the top of the lineup. Murdock, a senior from Memphis, Tenn., currently boasts a record of 7-6 at the No. 1 singles spot. The back-to-back All-C-USA selection had a victory over then-87th-ranked Stephanie Kent of Yale, earlier this season. Collins, a freshman from Fulton, Miss., also has a 7-6 record heading into the weekend.

In doubles, the No. 3 tandem of Collins and Kelly Gray comes into the weekend with a 5-4 overall mark. Along with Gray and Collins, Murdock and Marjorie Ondeck along with Andrea Arques-Garcia and Amanda Brown have made up the Lady Tigers' doubles lineup for much of the 2010 spring season.

Arkansas enters the weekend with a 7-2 overall record. The Razorbacks only two losses this season have come at the hands of No. 8 Michigan and No. 40 Rice. Coach Michael Hegarty's squad is led by 62nd-ranked Anouk Tigu at the top of the singles lineup. Tigu currently has an overall mark of 6-2 at the No. 2 spot. Her only two losses this season came to 16th-ranked Denise Muresan of Michigan and Alexandra Kichoutkin of Tulsa.

The Sooners of Oklahoma come into the weekend with a 7-0 overall record. Oklahoma has two wins over Top-40 opponents this season, picking up wins over Tulsa and Alabama. The Sooners are led by 76th-ranked Ana Maria Constantinescu. She has an overall record of 3-1 on the season.

In doubles, Constantinescu and Teona Tsertvadze come into the match ranked 29th in the country. The pair has an overall record of 3-1 on the season.

Arkansas Tech comes into the weekend with a 2-0 record. The Golden Suns are led by Michelle Yo at the top of the singles lineup. The junior from Flower Mound, Texas, currently boasts a 1-1 record at the No. 1 spot.

In doubles, Arkanas Tech is led by Brittany Turner and Saki Matsuoka. The pair enters Saturday's match with a 2-0 record.