Arkansas Wins At Alabama In SEC Opener
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Arkansas men’s tennis team won an SEC opener for the first time since 2012, defeating Alabama 5-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.
Arkansas (7-5, 1-0 SEC) won the doubles point and rolled to straight-set wins at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 singles to clinch the match over the Crimson Tide (6-8, 0-2 SEC).
Mike Redlicki, the No. 5 player in the nation, and Jose Salazar, the No. 22 player in the nation, gave the Razorbacks a 3-0 advantage, and then Johan den Toom clinched the win at No. 5.
“It’s always good to win in the SEC – even better to win on the road,” head coach Andy Jackson said. “It’s a great start for us and we are eager to play on Friday at Tennessee.”
Adam Sanjurjo and Oscar Mesquida were the first off the court in doubles, rolling to a 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles. Alabama won 7-5 at No. 3 doubles, as the doubles point would come down to No. 1 doubles.
Mike Redlicki and Jose Salazar, the No. 57 doubles team in the nation, held in the 11th game to lead 6-5 and then won four straight points in the 12th game to break and clinch the doubles point with a 7-5 win over Mazen Osama and Spencer Richey at No. 1 doubles.
Arkansas won the first set in three of six singles matches, going on to win in straight sets in all three of those matches. Arkansas forced a third set in the other three matches, while Redlicki and Salazar kept it rolling at No. 1 and No. 2 singles.
Redlicki was the first off the court in singles, defeating No. 62 Mazen Osama 7-5, 6-3 at No. 1 singles, to give Arkansas its second point in the match and improve to 2-1 against nationally-ranked opponent this spring. Salazar then finished off his 7-6, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles, to give Arkansas a 3-0 lead in the match.
With his team leading 3-0 in the match, and tied 5-5 in the second set himself, den Toom held serve for a 6-5 lead and then won four straight points to break and clinch the match with a 6-4, 7-5 win at No. 5 singles.
Play continued in the remaining three singles matches, where Oscar Mesquida completed his comeback, defeating Spencer Richey 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 4 singles, and Alabama won at No. 6 and No. 3 singles for the 5-2 final score.
Notable
- Arkansas won an SEC opener for the first time under head coach Andy Jackson and the first time since 2012.
- Arkansas remains undefeated against Alabama under head coach Andy Jackson, improving to 4-0 against the Crimson Tide, including 3-0 in matches played in Tuscaloosa.
- Mike Redlicki and Jose Salazar improved to 5-1 in doubles matches this season, while Adam Sanjurjo and Oscar Mesquida improved to 8-3 in doubles matches.
- Arkansas has won the doubles point in nine of 12 matches this season.
- Mike Redlicki defeated his second nationally-ranked opponent of the spring, improving to 2-1 against ranked players and 4-3 overall. Including the fall season, he is 12-2 against ranked players and 21-5 overall.
- Jose Salazar ran his team-best record to 8-2 in singles matches this season, while Johan den Toom improved to 7-3 in singles matches.
Up Next
Arkansas continues play on the road next weekend, traveling to Tennessee on Friday and No. 22 Georgia on Sunday, before returning home to face No. 19 South Carolina on March 16.
For more information on Razorback men’s tennis, please follow @RazorbackMTEN on Twitter.
