May 15, 2008

Tulsa, Oklahoma - The Arkansas women's tennis team pulled of the biggest upset of the day as the first round of the NCAA Men's and Women's Tennis Championships got underway on Thursday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the campus of The University of Tulsa.

The Lady Razorbacks, one of only two women's teams not seeded among the top-16 when the Sweet Sixteen began on Thursday, defeated No. 2 seed and SEC rival Georgia 4-2. Arkansas grabbed the doubles point and took a 6-2, 7-6 victory at the No. 1 position from the nation's No. 1 ranked Aurelija Miseviciate. Arkansas also won singles matches at No. 3 and 6.

Stanford and Baylor began the day with victories in their matches. The fourth-seeded Cardinal defeated No. 13 seed Clemson 4-0, while Baylor took a 4-1 victory over 12th seed Miami.

The nation's top-ranked Northwestern Wildcats claimed a 4-1 win over the 16th-seeded Fresno State Bulldogs. The closest match of the day came from the eighth and ninth seeds, as No. 8 California defeated Duke 4-3. The Blue Devils were up 3-1, but Cal received victories from Marina Cossou, Claire Ileinkas and Susie Babos to capture the victory.

In the final matches of the evening, two hours behind schedule because early morning rain delayed the start of the 9:00 am matches, No. 3 seed Georgia Tech claimed a 4-2 victory over Texas and Florida won 4-1 over fellow SEC opponent Vanderbilt.

Men's action will get underway on Friday with the following matches: 9 am -- Georgia vs. Pepperdine, Mississippi vs. North Carolina; 12 noon -- No.1-ranked Virginia vs. Michigan, Tennessee vs. Baylor; 3 pm -- Florida vs. Texas, Illinois vs. Ohio State; 6 pm - Oklahoam State vs. Southern Cal; and, Florida State vs. UCLA.

The women's quarterfinals will take place on Saturday beginning with Stanford vs. Baylor at 11 am; Northwestern vs. Cal at 12 noon; UCLA vs. Arkansas at 4:00 pm and Georgia Tech vs. Florida at 5:00 pm.