FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — No. 69 Skylar Kuykendall extended her winning streak to nine matches but it wasn’t enough as 25th-ranked LSU (15-8, 5-5 SEC) fell to 46th-ranked Arkansas (14-11, 3-7 SEC), 5-2, Friday afternoon at the Billingsley Tennis Center.
“We had our chances but we have to give Arkansas credit,” head coach Julia Sell said. “We will take the lessons from our loss today and improve in our match against Missouri on Sunday.”
Arkansas took the doubles point to begin the match. The duo of Abby Owens and Kuykendall, ranked 66th, defeated Makenzie Craft and Nicole Breaux on court two, 8-4.
Owens captured the first point for LSU and the first singles point overall on court three with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Arkansas’ Makenzie Craft.
Kuykendall put LSU up 2-1 with her 7-2, 7-5 win over Shannon Hudson on court two. The junior improved 20-3 and 8-2 in conference play for the year.
Arkansas never looked back, taking the next four courts to take the match. Skylar Holloway pushed court six to three sets but fell 5-7, 6-0, 3-6. Both Joana Vale Costa and Ella Taylor took the first set but couldn’t hold. Vale Costa fell 6-4, 6-7, 1-6 on court one and Taylor fell 6-2, 1-6, 3-6 on court five.
Noel Scott was the final Lady Tiger on court and dropped her match 6-7, 6-7 in a hard-fought battle against Mia Jurasic.
The Lady Tigers return to action against Missouri at 12 p.m. Sunday at the Mizzou Tennis Complex in Columbia.
For more information on the program, follow the Lady Tigers on Twitter @lsuwten and @LSUJuliaSell, on Instagram @LSUWTen and on www.Facebook.com/lsuwten.
#46 Arkansas 5, #25 LSU 2
Apr 03, 2015 at Fayetteville, Ark.
(Billingsley Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Yuliya Lysa (ARKW) def. #39 Joana Vale Costa (LSU) 4-6, 7-6 (6-4), 6-1
2. #69 Skylar Kuykendall (LSU) def. Shannon Hudson (ARKW) 6-2, 7-5
3. Abigail Owens (LSU) def. Makenzie Craft (ARKW) 6-3 (3-3), 6-3
4. Sasha Shkorupeieva (ARKW) def. Noel Scott (LSU) 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (9-7)
5. Mia Jurasic (ARKW) def. Ella Taylor (LSU) 2-6, 6-1, 6-3
6. Flavia Araujo (ARKW) def. Skylar Holloway (LSU) 7-5, 0-6, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Shannon Hudson/Yuliya Lysa (ARKW) def. #32 Joana Vale Costa/Noel Scott (LSU) 8-5
2. #66 Skylar Kuykendall/Abigail Owens (LSU) def. Makenzie Craft/Nicole Breaux (ARKW) 8-4
3. Flavia Araujo/Sasha Shkorupeieva (ARKW) def. Skylar Holloway/Amanda Atanasson (LSU) 8-2
Match Notes:
LSU 15-8, 5-5 SEC; National ranking #25
Arkansas 14-11, 3-7 SEC; National ranking #46
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,2,6,1,5,4)