The second-ranked Georgia women’s tennis team fell to No. 17 Arkansas, 4-2, in the NCAA Tennis Tournament Round of 16 Thursday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.

The No. 2 seeded Bulldogs end the season with a 22-5 record.

“Everybody is good here in the Sweet 16 and everyone comes in here with high hopes and high aspirations,” Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. “We were one of those teams with great aspirations. Arkansas played great today. We knew it was going to be a tough match. You have to take your hat off to them.”

All three doubles matches were tight to start the contest, but Arkansas prevailed by winning two out of three matches to take the early 1-0 lead. At one point Georgia had a 6-3 lead on court one and a 6-4 lead on court two, but could not hold on.

The Lady Razorbacks (18-9) picked up the first doubles win at No. 3 where Audrey Bordeleau and Anouk Tigu topped Monika Dancevic and Adrienne Elsberry, 8-6. The Bulldog tandem led 3-2, but the Arkansas duo won the next three games to take the lead for good.

Georgia quickly answered at No. 1 as the No. 52 ranked duo of Kelley Hyndman and Yvette Hyndman beat Arkansas’ 29th-ranked team of Ela Kaluder and Aurelija Miseviciute, 8-5. The Hyndman sisters took control early and never trailed, giving Georgia its first doubles win against Arkansas in three matches this year.

Arkansas clinched the point at No. 2 as Nanar Airapetian and Maryori Franco rallied to beat Naoko Ueshima and Cameron Ellis, 8-6. Georgia’s duo won three straight games in the middle of the match to take a 6-4 lead and was at game point to go up 7-4, but the Lady Razorbacks won the last four games to clinch the point.

“We played good enough to win the doubles point,” Wallace said. “We had some opportunities. We were up 6-4 and had an ad at No. 2. That would have given us some unbelievable momentum going into singles.”

In singles, Bordeleau put Arkansas ahead 2-0 with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Elsberry at No. 6. Aurelija Miseviciute, the nation’s top-ranked player, then posted a 6-2, 7-6 (1) win over No. 39 Yvette Hyndman at No. 1 to extend Arkansas’ lead to 3-0.

Georgia’s 83rd-ranked Ueshima put the Bulldogs on the board with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Franco at No. 4. With the win the sophomore from Hyogo, Japan, finished the season with 69 combined singles and doubles victories, tying the school record set by Agate Cioroch in 2002 for the most combined wins in one season.

Shortly following, Ellis pulled Georgia to within 3-2 with a 7-6 (5), 6-1 win over Airapetian at No. 5. The freshman from Roswell, Ga., finished the season with a team-best 37-8 record.

Tigu clinched the match for the Lady Razorbacks, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, over No. 103 Dancevic. After splitting the first two sets, Dancevic battled leg cramps in the third set as her 12-match winning streak came to an end,

The match between Georgia’s 58th-ranked Kelley Hyndman and Ela Kaluder was suspended once the match was clinched. Hyndman won the first set, 7-6 (4), and trailed in the second set 4-3 when the match was halted.

It was the third meeting between the two teams after splitting the first two matches. Arkansas’ victory snapped Georgia’s 10-match winning streak.

“I look at our season, and we had one senior who had a great year,” Wallace said. “We have everybody else coming back. I think the sky is the limit for us in the future.”

Both Kelley Hyndman and Yvette Hyndman earned bids to the NCAA Singles Championships and will begin play May 21.

#17 Arkansas 4, #2 Georgia 2
Singles competition
1. #1 Aurelija Miseviciute (ARK) def. #39 Yvette Hyndman (UGA) 6-2, 7-6 (7-1)
2. #58 Kelley Hyndman (UGA) vs. #73 Ela Kaluder (ARK) 7-6 (7-4), 3-4, unfinished
3. Anouk Tigu (ARK) def. #103 Monika Dancevic (UGA) 6-1, 4-6, 6-1
4. #83 Naoko Ueshima (UGA) def. Maryori Franco (ARK) 7-5, 6-3
5. Cameron Ellis (UGA) def. Nanar Airapetian (ARK) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
6. Audrey Bordeleau (ARK) def. Adrienne Elsberry (UGA) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. #52 Kelley Hyndman/Yvette Hyndman (UGA) def. #29 Ela Kaluder/Aurelija Miseviciute (ARK) 8-5
2. Nanar Airapetian/Maryori Franco (ARK) def. Naoko Ueshima/Cameron Ellis (UGA) 8-6
3. Audrey Bordeleau/Anouk Tigu (ARK) def. Monika Dancevic/Adrienne Elsberry (UGA) 8-6

Match Notes:
Arkansas 18-9; National ranking #17
Georgia 22-5; National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,1,4,5,3)

- Georgia Sports Communications