Gators down Razorbacks 7-0
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Arkansas men’s tennis team suffered its 10th loss of the season Sunday, in a 7-0 decision to the No. 10 Florida Gators.“It was a tough one for us today,” head Razorbacks coach Robert Cox said. “We played hard but just came up against a Florida team that was on its game from beginning to end.”
The No. 45 Hogs (10-10, 2-6) struggled against the Gators (14-6, 5-3) from the start, dropping all three doubles matches to fall behind, 1-0 heading into singles play.
A weekafter challenging the No. 7 doubles team in the country, Blake Strode and partner Chris Nott could not find an answer for the No. 17 duo of Joey Burkhardt and Antoine Benneteau, falling, 8-4 as the Gators clinched the doubles point at the No. 1 position
Razorbacks Matt Hogan and Dmitry Lebedev absorbed an 8-6 loss to Jeff Dadamo and Johnny Hamui on Court 2 and Taylor King and Matt Walters were handled, 8-2, at No. 3 doubles by Carlos Cueto and Alex Lacroix.
Not fairing any better in singles, Arkansas dropped three quick matches behind Tyler Tarnasky, Bradwin Williams and Lebedev at No. 6, No. 4 and No. 5 singles, respectively, to give Florida the win.
In the final match to finish on Sunday, Strode hung on after dropping the first set of his match to No. 27-ranked Cueto, even coming back from 3-1 down in the second set, but the No. 13 Hog was unable to hold Cueto for long, falling, 6-4, 6-3.
Next weekend, the Razorbacks return to the George M. Billingsley Tennis Center for their final two home matches of the season.
Friday, Mississippi State is in Fayetteville for a 1:30 p.m. first serve.
On Sunday, the Hogs will celebrate Senior Day, honoring Strode and Connor Smith for their accomplishments and contributions to the Razorbacks. Sunday’s match, against Ole Miss, is scheduled for 1 p.m. with Senior Day festivities happening before the start of singles play.
For more information and for complete coverage of Razorback men’s tennis, log on to ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
#10 Florida 7, #45 Arkansas 0April 5, 2009Gainesville, Fla.Singles1. #27 Carlos Cueto (UF) def. #13 Blake Strode (UA), 6-4, 6-32. #28 Alex Lacroix (UF) def. Chris Nott (UA), 6-1, 6-33. Antoine Benneteau (UF) def. Matt Hogan (UA), 6-0, 7-54. Joey Burkhardt (UF) def. Dmitry Lebedev (UA), 6-1, 6-05. Johnny Hamui (UF) def. Bradwin Williams (UA), 6-4, 6-06. Jeff Dadamo (UF) def. Tyler Tarnasky (UA), 6-0, 6-3.
Doubles1. #17 Joey Burkhardt/Antoine Benneteau (UF) def. Blake Strode/Chris Nott (UA), 8-42. Jeff Dadamo/Johnny Hamui (UF) def. Matt Hogan/Dmitry Lebedev (UA), 8-63. Carlos Cueto/Alex Lacroix (UF) def. Taylor King/Matt Walters (UA), 8-2
Order of Finish:Doubles: 3, 1*, 2Singles: 6, 4, 5*, 2, 3, 1
