Hogs Earn Five Wins on Opening Day of Bonita Bay Classic

BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. – Four members of the Arkansas men’s tennis team opened play at the Bonita Bay Classic on Friday, collecting five wins between singles and doubles competition. The Razorbacks faced off against USF in doubles and FGCU in singles.

The Hogs started the day with two wins in doubles play with Connor Smillie and Jakub Vrba teaming up for a 7-6 (2) victory over Ben Hudson/Tom Pavlekovich-Smith while Brendan Boland and Benni Emesz followed with a 6-4 win against Ettore Danesi/Gughi Verdese to secure the doubles sweep.

Emesz took home his second victory of the day in singles play, defeating Hugo Magnusson in straight sets. Vrba picked up his second win of the event after a 6-3, 6-0 victory against Ninad Raut. Boland also earned another win on Friday with a straight-set victory over Stavros Hadjivarnava. Smillie dropped his singles match in straight sets to Jonathan Baron, 4-6, 2-6.

The Razorbacks continue play at the Bonita Bay Classic tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. CT with doubles versus FGCU and singles versus FAU.

Singles Results (vs. FGCU)
Emesz (Arkansas) def. Magnusson (FGCU), 7-5, 6-3
Baron (FGCU) def. Smillie (Arkansas), 6-4, 6-2
Vrba (Arkansas) def. Raut (FGCU), 6-3, 6-0
Boland (Arkansas) def. Hadjivarnava (FGCU), 6-4, 6-1

Doubles Results (vs. USF)
Smillie/Vrba (Arkansas) def. Hudson/Pavlekovich-Smith (USF), 7-6 (2)
Boland/Emesz (Arkansas) def. Danesi/Verdese (USF), 6-4