FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas soccer team overcame two Southeastern Conference opponents and a nasty bout with a bug to notch two wins over the weekend.

Arkansas coach Gordon Henderson was happy with the 2-0 win at Ole Miss, but he said he was prouder of the 1-0 win Sunday at Mississippi State.

"We had a stomach virus run rampant through our team," Henderson said. "We were in the ER. We had kids that were very, very sick, I think eight of them. We had players that couldn't play on Sunday. We had players that were dragging their bodies out on the field ..."

The wins also gave the Razorbacks their best start ever at 9-1. That record also earned Arkansas a ranking in the SoccerBuzz central regional poll for just the second time in program history. The Razorbacks are ranked 13th in the region.

Despite the ranking, Henderson said his team will still go into SEC matches at Georgia on Friday and at Tennessee on Sunday as underdogs.

"The good thing is we have absolutely nothing to lose," Henderson said. "I think the pressure's clearly on those two schools ... I think we can go in there and just play."

Going Against The Best

Arkansas women's cross country coach Lance Harter said his athletes want to face the best, and that's what they'll see Saturday at the Bill Dellinger Invitational in Eugene, Ore.

"We're going to go out to the University of Oregon basically see the No. 2 team in the nation last year with everybody back," Harter said. "And then ... they were of good fortune to inherit two superstars, one that transferred in from the University of Georgetown, and the other transferred from a place called Harvard. ... so they just put themselves over the top. On paper, absolutely outstanding cross country team -- maybe one of the best that a women's team has been able to assemble in the last 10 years."

Freshmen Impress

Pitcher Kelsie Vallies is among four freshmen who have caught Arkansas softball coach Jamie Pinkerton's eye in the fall.

Outfielder Tori Mort, along with infielders Brittany Griffiths and Jessica Robison have also shown well.

"When you look at her, (Vallies) has a presence on the mound, which is what you don't see a lot in freshmen," Pinkerton said. "They get a lot of deer-in-the-headlights looks. And even though she might be feeling that way, she doesn't portray that on the mound."

Vallies threw two scoreless innings in a 9-6 loss to Tulsa, an NCAA Tournament team last year. The righthander has allowed just one earned run in six innings in the fall.

Pinkerton said Vallies will pitch this weekend, but he's not sure whether she will start.

However, he already has an eye toward starting her against one of the final two fall opponents, Northeastern (Okla.) State or Oklahoma State.

Brittany Griffiths is currently battling sophomore returnee Brittany Robison for the starting job at shortstop.

Mort has been a "spark plug" for the Razorbacks in left field and at the top of the lineup, Pinkerton said.

"She's started a lot of our rallies .. and she gunned-out a player at the plate against Tulsa in the first inning," Pinkerton said.

Jessica Robison is also playing a lot at third.

"... She has the quickness to field bunts," Pinkerton said. "She has the ability to move to her left and cut balls off in the hole at short.

"So I've been real pleased with how those three freshmen have played, and if they can show they can handle the rigors of Division I softball and be productive at the plate, it's going to be hard to keep them out of the lineup."

Fernandez Earns Honor

Arkansas freshman Eric Fernandez has been named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week, after finishing 18th in the Stanford Invitational cross country meet on Saturday. He clocked an 8K personal best of 25 minutes. He was the third freshman overall to cross the finish line.

On The Air

The Arkansas volleyball team's match at LSU on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. will be televised on Cox Sports Television, which is Cox cable channel 119 in Northwest Arkansas. The Razorbacks have lost five straight matches to the Tigers. Arkansas' last win against LSU came in 2005 in Fayetteville.