FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - After dropping competitive matches against No. 15 Kansas, No. 23 Ole Miss and a strong Tulsa program, who entered the latest rankings at No. 23, the 2017-18 Purdue women's tennis team finally earned itself a signature win Sunday. In their second match of the weekend at the George M. Billingsley Tennis Center, the Boilermakers defeated No. 38 Arkansas 4-3, while overcoming an early 3-0 deficit.
In doubles against the Razorbacks, Purdue fell on courts one and two, surrendering the first point for the second time in as many days. Silvia Ambrosio and Ena Babic lost 6-4 to Arkansas' No. 36 Ana Oparenovic and Tatum Rice at the first position, and Rafaella Baquerizo and Seira Shimizu fell 6-3 to Mia Jurasic and Giulia Pairone at the second.
The Boilermakers opened the day on a positive note, however, as Zala Dovnik and Alex Sabe defeated Agne Cepelyte and Martina Zerulo 6-2 on court three in the first match off.
In singles, the Razorbacks quickly extended their lead with straight-set victories at the first and second positions. Both Ambrosio and Sabe finished the weekend 0-2, losing 6-2, 7-5 to Pairone on court one and 6-3, 6-0 to No. 76 Oparenovic on court two, respectively. However, Purdue took full control of the dual from this point forward, sweeping the home team at the lower four positions.
Baquerizo exited third, securing a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 win against Rice on court four. Shimizu finished fourth in the dual's final two-setter, besting Natsuho Arakawa 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4) on court five. Fellow freshman Babic moved the score the three all, defeating Jurasic 7-6 (7-2), 2-6, 6-4; while Dovnik, Purdue's third newcomer, clinched the victory as Zerulo retired at 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 4-0.
Sunday's win marks the fourth time this season that the Boilermaker's three freshmen swept their individual contests. Their next chance to do so will be against No. 17 Notre Dame at home in exactly one week. First serve from inside the Schwartz Tennis Center is schedule for 2 p.m. ET.