Tough Schedule Gets Tougher on the Road

PROVO -- The No. 35 BYU women's tennis team will face two powerhouse teams on the road this weekend as they head to Arkansas to face the No. 48 Lady Razorbacks (6-1) on Friday and to Texas Tech on Saturday to face the No. 53 Red Raiders.

"It's going to be a tough weekend," head coach Craig Manning said. We have to play indoors Friday against a really good Arkansas squad and then play outdoors on Saturday in Texas. We're going to need to play extremely well to get two wins this weekend."

The Cougars enter the match with a record of 4-4 on the year with six of those matches against ranked teams and three against teams in the top 20. Arkansas and Texas Tech will be the seventh and eighth ranked teams on BYU's schedule on the Cougars' way to facing a total of 17 before season's end.

"We always play a tough schedule," Manning said. "We're used to it. The lineups are looking good. We're getting stronger and stronger, we're getting better each day and that is what we are focusing on."

The probable marquis match of the weekend will feature undefeated sophomore Ela Kaluder (No. 40) of Arkansas against BYU's top senior Lauren Jones. Jones is 2-2 against ranked players since the fall season. Her last match against a ranked player resulted in a win for Jones as she beat No. 38 Jessica Zok (Baylor) at the National Team Indoor Championships in straight sets, 7-5, 7-5. Jones two losses against ranked players were both three-set matches.

The next time the Cougars will be at home is Friday, March 2 against the University of Colorado (No. 47). BYU was scheduled to host Boise State on March 3, but due to scheduling conflicts the match has been moved to April 4.