Razorbacks Split Doubleheader To Close Weekend

Texas Match Box Score | Illinois State Match Box Score | Video Highlights

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 19 Arkansas men’s tennis closed out its four-match, season-opening home stand with a doubleheader split on Sunday at the Dills Indoor Tennis Center . The Razorbacks (2-2) began the day with a 5-2 loss to No. 4 Texas (4-1) and came back with a 6-1 win over Illinois State (0-2).

No. 4 Texas won the doubles point and the first three singles matches in straight sets to clinch the win in the first match of the day. Play continued on the other three courts, where No. 19 Jose Salazar came back and won in three sets at No. 2 singles and Juan Marino remained undefeated with a three-set win at No. 6 singles.

“Texas was too good today,” head coach Andy Jackson said. “They are an elite-level team. We can play better and are excited about the work ahead.”

Arkansas won all three doubles matches and the first four singles matches in straight sets on the way to 5-2 win over Illinois State in the second match of the day. No. 19 Jose Salazar finished off his 2-0 day in singles match, while Branch Terrell clinched the match against Illinois State with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles.

“Winning is about a lot of things,” Jackson said. “One of those things is the feeling of confidence that teams, players and coaches get by winning. This match helps us. We competed well across the board. Today was not easy but it is going to help us. I like my team a lot.”

No. 19 Arkansas 6, Illinois State 1

Arkansas won all three doubles matches to take the doubles point and a 1-0 lead in the match. Jacob Herndon and Austin Robles won 6-2 at No. 3 doubles, and Johan den Toom and Branch Terrell clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles. Jose Salazar and Oscar Mesquida completed the sweep with a 6-4 win at No. 1 doubles.

 The Razorbacks won the first set on four of the six courts and rolled to straight-set wins in all four of those matches. Johan den Toom was the first off the court, winning 6-2, 6-1 at No. 4 singles. No. 19 Jose Salazar followed with a 6-4, 6-0 win at No. 1 singles, and then Branch Terrell clinched the win with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles.

Play continued on the other three courts, and shortly thereafter, Oscar Mesquida finished off a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles, while the other two matches went into third sets. Adam Sanjurjo, after dropping the first set, came back and won 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 3 singles to close out the match.

No. 4 Texas 5, No. 19 Arkansas 2

Adam Sanjurjo and Oscar Mesquida won two early breaks and rolled to a 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles. At No. 1 doubles, trailing 5-3, Mike Redlicki and Jose Salazar held serve to extend the match, before Texas served the match out for the 6-4 win.

The doubles point came down to No. 3 doubles, where Johan den Toom and Branch Terrell broke back to 5-4 and then held serve to tie the match at 5-5. Texas then held serve to lead 6-5 and broke den Toom and Terrell on the 40-15 point in the 12^th game of the match to win the match 7-5 and clinch the doubles point.

Texas won the first set on five of the six courts and clinched the match with straight-set wins at No. 4, No. 5 and No. 3 singles. No. 3 Mike Redlicki and No. 19 Jose Salazar, after dropping the first set in their respective matches, battled back to force third-set tiebreaker at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, while Texas did so at No. 6 singles.

Salazar came back and won his match in three sets, 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-5), at No. 2 singles, while Redlicki was unable to complete the comeback at No. 1 singles, falling to No. 6 Christian Sigsgaard in three sets, 6-3, 6-7 (7-4), 1-0 (10-6). At No. 6 singles, Marino saved two match points to tie the super tiebreaker at 9-9 and then won the next two points for the 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (11-9) win at No. 6 singles.

Notable

• Mike Redlicki saw his seven-match winning streak against ranked opponents snapped against Texas. The streak dated back to the fall and included five straight on the way to the ITA/USTA National Indoor Championships singles title.
• Juan Marino improved to 3-0 in singles matches this spring, winning in three sets at No. 6 singles against Texas.
• Branch Terrell clinched the win over Illinois State with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles.
• Arkansas will face at least eight more teams ranked in the top 25 of the national team rankings, including two teams next weekend at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Norman, Oklahoma.

Up Next

No. 19 Arkansas hits the road for the first time this spring, traveling to Norman, Oklahoma, for the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The Razorbacks will face No. 17 Illinois on Saturday, Jan. 28, and then either No. 12 Oklahoma or No. 21 Michigan on Sunday, Jan. 29.

For more information on Razorback men’s tennis, please follow @RazorbackMTEN on Twitter.