Arkansas announces spring tennis schedule

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas women’s tennis head coach Michael Hegarty announced the Razorbacks’ 2018 spring schedule Monday.

Tatum Rice, a 2017 Lakeside High School graduate, joined Arkansas this fall after she was ranked as the state’s top prospect and the No. 28 overall player in the nation by TennisRecruiting. net. She was only the second blue chip recruit from the state of Arkansas by the recruiting service since it began in 2003.

“We are excited to begin the spring season,” said Hegarty, who has led the Razorbacks to the NCAA tournament nine times, including each of the last three seasons. “Our schedule will prepare us well for late season success as we look to build off a very successful fall.”

The Razorbacks, who captured the program’s 15th NCAA tournament bid and finished with 18 wins last spring, will open their 46th season on Jan. 23, with a home match against Tulsa at George M. Billingsley Tennis Center.

Arkansas’ non-conference portion of its schedule is highlighted by a trip to Columbus, Ohio, for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division I KickOff Weekend from Jan. 26-27, which takes place at 15 campus sites. The Razorbacks will compete against Wake Forest on Jan.

26 and either Ohio State or Kansas on Jan. 27. The 15 schools that win both of their matches at these events will be invited to play in the Feb. 9-12 ITA National Team Indoor Championship hosted by the University of Wisconsin.

The Hogs will hit the road again during the first week in February to take on Oklahoma on Feb. 2 and Oklahoma State on Feb.

4. Arkansas will host non-conference opponents Wichita State, Feb. 10; Southeast Missouri State, Feb. 10; Kansas, Feb. 2; and Purdue on Feb. 25 before traveling to Columbia, Mo., for their Southeastern Conference opener against Missouri on March 2.

The Razorbacks’ home SEC matches include Kentucky, March

9; Vanderbilt, March 11; Ole Miss, March 23; Mississippi State, March 25; Alabama, April 6; and Auburn, April 8. The Hogs will travel to LSU, March 15; Texas A&M, March 17; Florida, March

29; South Carolina, March 31; Georgia, April 1; and Tennessee, April 14, for their SEC road slate.

The 2018 campaign will mark the Razorbacks’ 15th season under Hegarty, who is the program’s alltime winningest coach with 197 victories and the 2017 Wilson/ ITA Central Region Coach of the Year.

Last spring, the Razorbacks’ defeated 11 teams featured in the final 2017 national rankings, including No. 14 Auburn, No. 16 Texas A&M, No. 21 LSU and No.

24 Tennessee. Arkansas checked in at No. 19 in the final rankings after holding a spot in the top 20 in each of the last 10 weeks of the season.