With the decade coming to a close, it's time to celebrate the top Razorback moments that made the past 10 years memorable. Below, in no particular order, are 10 of the best moments from Arkansas athletics.
Razorback Baseball: 3am Win in 2017 Fayetteville Regional
It isn't often that a game scheduled to start in the afternoon ends at 3 in the morning. Arkansas and Missouri State defied logic, by playing a game that did exactly that. It was a strange night all the way through, a six-hour romp that included a reset in the third inning -- at 12:35 a.m. The Razorbacks were ultimately victorious in the 2017 Fayetteville Regional when Arkansas pitcher Evan Lee struck out Missouri State's Justin Paulsen in the rain to end the game. The final score ended up being 11-10 in favor of Arkansas. Emotions ran high throughout the game, including a point at 2:30 in the morning when the rain began to pick up again.
Razorback Men's Basketball: Qualls Dunk Defeats Kentucky
With the game tied after Kentucky’s James Young made a 3-pointer with 10.5 seconds left, Ky Madden launched a 3-point attempt from the right wing with 2.9 seconds left. Michael Qualls sprinted in from the left corner. The shot hit the back rim and Qualls, with 0.7 seconds left, caught and dunked the ball in one motion with 0.3 seconds left to lift Arkansas to an 87-85 overtime upset versus the #13 Wildcats in Bud Walton Arena.
Razorback Women's Basketball: Hogs Upset Texas A&M
Arkansas punched its ticket to its first-ever SEC Championship game with one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the program, using a 17-0 burst to top No. 15 Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament Semifinal. Chelsea Dungee (17 points) Jailyn Mason (15 points) and Alexis Tolefree (11 points) led the way out of what was once a 16-point hole, while nine fourth-quarter turnovers forced was enough to get the Hogs into the SEC Final.
Razorback Women's Track & Field/Cross Country: Calendar Sweep
It had only been accomplished by two other programs (Oregon and Texas) until the Razorbacks joined the party, holding all three national championships at the same time is an incredibly rare feat but the Hogs did just that in 2019. Arkansas started the calendar year with the indoor national championship in Birmingham, Alabama followed by the outdoor national title in Austin, Texas and wrapping up the sweep with the program’s first-ever cross country national championship in Terre Haute, Indiana this fall. The three national championships brought the track and field programs’ combined total to 46 with the women’s program improving their total to five.
Razorback Football: Henry Heave Defeats Ole Miss
One of the more legendary moments in Arkansas football history happened in Oxford, Mississippi in 2015, simply known as the Henry Heave. The underdog Razorbacks managed to force overtime at No. 19 Ole Miss thanks to a late touchdown pass from Brandon Allen to Dominique Reed but that simply set the stage for an all-time moment. The Rebels scored first in overtime and seemed to have the game on ice when an Allen pass intended for Hunter Henry was broken up to force 4th & 25. Razorback fans will never forget what happened next as Allen found Henry for 14 yards down the Ole Miss sideline but as he was being tackled Henry heaved the ball back over his head towards the original line of scrimmage where a waiting Alex Collins scooped up the deflected ball and rambled down to the 11-yard line on the opposite sideline for a first down. Two plays later Allen found Drew Morgan for a touchdown but instead of kicking a PAT to send the game to a second overtime, the Razorbacks went for two with Allen diving into the end zone for the game-winner.
Razorback Men's Golf: Claims First SEC Title
Arkansas finished stroke play at the 2019 SEC Championship in seventh place and 39 strokes behind leader Auburn. However, the slates were swept clean as the top eight teams advanced to match play. The Razorbacks needed two extra holes to dispatch Vanderbilt in the quarterfinal. Later in the day, Arkansas would need one extra hole to defeat Texas A&M in the semifinal. In the championship match versus Auburn , William Buhl and Tyson Reeder gave Arkansas two quick points. The Tigers got on the board with a win in match five. Matches three (Luis Garza) and four (Julian Perico) came down to the end. Garza was tied with Jovan Rubula through 18 holes and were playing their first extra hole. Perico and Grayson Huff were tied through 17 holes before Perico hit a monster drive and two-putted from nine feet on the 18th hole to secure the program’s second SEC Men’s Golf championship and first since 1995.
Razorback Soccer: First SEC Regular Season Title
The Razorback soccer team earned the program’s first conference title in 2019 with a 3-1 win at Tennessee in the SEC regular season finale. Arkansas outshot the Volunteers 17-12 on the match with three different Hogs netting a goal. The win over the Vols matched a program-high with eight conference victories as Arkansas went 8-1-1 and outscored conference opponents 27-5. Haley VanFossen (SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year), Anna Podojil (SEC Freshman of the Year) and Colby Hale (SEC Coach of the Year) were honored by the SEC with postseason honors, all program firsts, and it was just the second season in school history that four Razorbacks were tabbed to the All-SEC First Team.
Razorback Softball: 2018 Postseason Run
In her third year at the helm, head softball coach Courtney Deifel helped lead the Razorbacks to host their first-ever regional followed by the team’s first super-regional appearance in program history. Two seasons removed from a one-win conference tally, Arkansas wrapped up the year with a 42-17 record, the third most wins in program history; and the highest number since 2000. The team earned the program’s first-ever NCAA national seed and hosted the Fayetteville Regional on its way to securing a spot in this weekend’s Norman Super Regional. For their efforts, the coaching staff earned 2018 NFCA Division I South Region Staff of the Year. The team also finished 17th in the final NCAA RPI.
Razorback Women's Tennis: Upset Of #9 Oklahoma State
The Arkansas women’s tennis team dropped the doubles point to open the match. Arkansas then evened the match 1-1 at the No. 2 position. Oklahoma State then pulled ahead again with Lauren Alter falling and Laura Rijkers as well. The Razorbacks pulled within one at the No.6 position as Miruna Tudor earned a victory and tied the match as Zerulo earned a win as well. Carr clinched the match in the tiebreaker set, fighting back from a set-one loss to win the match. The win was the first time since 2012 that Arkansas has defeated Oklahoma State.
Razorback Volleyball: Five Set Upset Over #9 Florida
The Razorbacks highlighted their 2015 season with a five-set win over #9 Florida in Barnhill Arena. With the win, Arkansas started 3-0 in conference play for the first time since 2003 and 13-2 overall for the first time since 1998. The Hogs defeated the Gators for the first time since 2007 and it marked their first top-10 win since 2007 when they defeated #5 Florida in Fayetteville (3-2).
