Feb. 27, 2009

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis women's tennis team will head to Fayetteville, Ark., on Saturday to face-off with the 17th-ranked Arkansas Lady Razorbacks at 1 p.m., at the Billingsley Tennis Center.

The Memphis Lady Tigers come into Saturday's match with a mark of 5-6, with four of the losses being to ranked opponents. Arkansas is coming off a 5-2 loss to the No. 69 SMU Mustangs. The U of M fell to SMU on Feb. 13, 7-0.

"Arkansas is a Top-20 team nationally, so it will again be another test for our team to see where we are," said Memphis head coach Lee Taylor Walker.

The Lady Tigers are coming off of a 7-0 loss to No. 53 Ole Miss on Thursday in Oxford, Miss. The U of M played several matches close in the first set of singles, but were ultimately swept by a very good Ole Miss squad.

Ashley Murdock, the Lady Tigers' No. 1 singles player and a reigning All-C-USA second team selection from 2008, has won eight of her last ten matches for the U of M. The graduate of St. Agnes Academy in Memphis lost her last match to Kristi Boxx, a Top-70 singles player nationally. Murdock is 9-4 in singles this season. The junior finished last season with a 15-4 mark in all dual matches. Also in singles, senior Kristin Chamberlain is coming off of a hard-fought performance against Ole Miss' Soledad Podlipnik. Chamberlain led for parts of the first set, before losing the match, 6-4, 7-5.

In doubles, the No. 1 tandem of Murdock and Irvin currently boast a mark of 9-5. The pair lost 8-5 in a tough doubles bout with the No. 21 doubles duo of Boxx and Karen Njissen from Ole Miss.

Arkansas is 4-2 on the season with their two losses coming to SMU and fifth-ranked Notre Dame. The Lady Razorbacks have picked up three victories over rated opponents this season, beatingNo. 32 Tulsa, No. 40 BYU and No. 45 Oregon. The Arkansas line-up is anchored by fourth-ranked singles netter Aurelija Miseviciute at the No. 1 position. Miseviciute has a 7-1 mark on the season, with her only loss coming at the hands of SMU's Marta Lesniak in a three set struggle on Feb. 25. The Arkansas senior is the reigning two-time ITA National Indoor champion. Miseviciute advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Outdoor Championships last season.

In doubles, the No. 1 tandem of Nanar Airapetian and Anouk Tigu, the nation's 12th-ranked doubles partnership. Airapetian and Tigu are 5-3 on the year, with their losses coming to SMU's Lesniak and Malyarschikova, Notre Dame's third-ranked duo of Kelcy Tefft and Kristy Frilling and Tulsa's 48th-ranked pair of Alexandra Kichoutkin and Marta Marcinkowska.

The U of M will return home on Mar. 6, for duals with the Austin Peay State Governors and the Murray State Racers.