The 2010 SEC Championship was cut short for the No. 55 Auburn Women's Tennis team after defeat by No. 25 Arkansas in the opening round Thursday.
After suffering a loss to the Razorbacks earlier in the season, the team traveled to Athens, Ga., to compete at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of Georgia, in hopes of making a comeback and meeting the Ole Miss Rebels in the second round.
Seniors Fani Chifchieva and Jil Hastenrath started the day in a game of doubles, which ended in a loss at No. 2 doubles against Arkansas' Anouk Tigu and Valentina Starkova.
"There were a lot of ups and downs, and there wasn't much consistency," Chifchieva said. "We missed a lot of points."
Chifchieva said consistency has been a main problem throughout the season.
The 88th-ranked team of Myrthe Molenveld and Paulina Schippers followed in a game against Kate Lukomskaya and Kelsey Sundramand.
The Auburn duo achieved their fourth victory of the year as a team, as well as the only Auburn win for the day at No. 1 doubles.
"I was very proud of the girls after the Alabama match about how hard we fought, but we really needed to step up against Arkansas," said coach Tim Gray.
Freshmen Caroline Thornton and Plamena Kurteva battled in tough third-flight action, ultimately giving up the doubles point.
"When they really stepped up, we didn't," Molenveld said. "It's very sad we didn't execute."
Arkansas' luck continued when singles play opened with a win for the Razorbacks at No. 5 singles as Hastenrath was knocked down, 6-3, 6-1.
Sophomore Daniela Vukadinovic gained a tiebreak at No. 2 in the first set, but fell in the second set.
The match concluded with a shutout in No. 1 singles, as No. 45 Chifchieva lost both sets to No. 45 Tigu.
Tigu took the first set, 6-7, and claimed the victory, 6-1, in the second set, sealing the shutout at 4-0.
"We could have been more aggressive," Chifchieva said. "I think that's one of the factors why it didn't turn out good in the end."
With regular season and SEC play behind them, Auburn will now wait to hear the word on team selection, as well as individual selections, for singles and doubles championships.
"We will just need to sit back and wait for the NCAA Regional announcement on May 4," Gray said. "If we make it, we know we'll play a great team, so we'll definitely have our work cut out for us."
Despite a disappointing year for the team, players still have high hopes for the future.
"I hope the group got some experience from this year, because they have to do it without the seniors next year," Molenveld said.
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