Hogs Prepare for Big SEC Weekend with Two Home Matches
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Men’s Tennis squad (9-6, 0-2) will complete a three-match homestand this weekend when the Razorbacks welcome the No. 25 Auburn Tigers (12-2, 1-0) on Friday and the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats (10-4, 1-1) on Sunday. The Hogs are 8-2 in Fayetteville this season and will look to build upon their strong home record against two of the SEC’s best.
Auburn will be Arkansas’ first test of the weekend and is riding a four-match winning streak coming to Fayetteville. The Tigers have racked up a few impressive wins this year, including against top 50 teams Tulane and LSU. But the Hogs and Tigers have one common opponent this season, VCU, who the Razorbacks defeated on Feb. 20, but is one of the Tigers’ two losses. The Rams beat Auburn five days after taking the loss at Arkansas.
It will be a short turnaround for Arkansas as the Kentucky Wildcats will come to town just two days later. Kentucky has been in or around the top 10 for the entirety of the spring season thus far, and boasts three singles players in the top 60. The Wildcats’ four losses this year have come at the hand of then-No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Baylor, No. 5 Florida and No. 11 South Carolina. The Wildcats’ best win was over No. 9 USC on Feb. 18, and they started the season winning their first five matches via sweep.
Kentucky junior Gabriel Diallo is ranked No. 10 in singles and is the highest ranked player the Hogs will have faced all season.
Arkansas is set to climb the conference standings ladder if the Hogs can grab a couple wins this weekend. Sophomore Melvin Manuel will look to continue his hot start to the season, collecting a 9-1 record in singles to date.
MATCH INFO-
Opponents: Auburn Tigers (March 11) & Kentucky Wildcats (March 13)
Dates: March 11, March 13
Times: 4 p.m. (March 11) & 1 p.m. (March 13)
Location: Fayetteville, Ark.
Live Stats: (Auburn) bit.ly/3ME5DAy (Kentucky) bit.ly/3CvtbTB
Live Stream: bit.ly/3AlZqnb
For updates, follow @RazorbackMTEN on Twitter.
