Hogs Take Down Rice and UTRGV to Start Season
HARLINGEN, Texas – The Arkansas men’s tennis team (2-0) completed a road doubleheader on Saturday evening in Harlingen, Texas, beating Rice (0-1), 5-2, before keeping momentum to best UT – Rio Grande Valley (0-1), 6-1.
The Razorbacks claimed an early lead versus Rice after a doubles sweep to take the first point of the match. Brendan Boland and Dimitry Kopilevich teamed up to collect their first victory together this season with a 6-3 win over Mandelbaum/Porras on court three. No. 36 Connor Smillie and Jakub Vrba followed their victory with a 7-5 win against Kuzmenok/Navarro in the top spot. No. 67 Eric Padgham and Ben Weintraub’s match went unfinished with the Arkansas duo in a tiebreak.
The Hogs struck first in singles play as newcomer Weintraub took down Gabriel Porras in straight sets at the No. 3 position, while Boland obtained his first singles victory this spring after a 6-3, 6-4 win over Joshua Mandelbaum on court six, leaving the Razorbacks within one point of securing the match. Sophomore No. 18 Vrba clinched the match with a 6-3, 7-6 (5) win over Santiago Navarro on the second court.
The match continued, with Rice securing victories on two of the remaining courts. Palovic started his singles campaign off strong, ending the match with his first ranked win of the season, beating No. 79 Petro Kuzmenok 5-7, 7-6 (2), 1-0 (10).
Arkansas stumbled out of the blocks in the second match of the day against UTRGV, losing the doubles point for the first time this season.
In singles play, the Hogs started to roll by taking the first set on every single court. On court five, Gabriel Elicha Navas cruied past Loic Young Kriegel, 6-1, 6-1, while No. Vrba secured his third win of the day as he defeated Ivo Isqueiro, 6-1, 6-3 at the No. 2 position. Weintraub inched the Razorbacks closer to clinching the match with a straight set victory over Santiago Serrano on court three, with Kopilevich also earning his first singles victory to give Arkansas their third consecutive 2-0 start to a season under Head Coach Jay Udwadia. Palovic and Padgham coasted in their matches to round out the day.
Arkansas will return home as they face Florida Gulf Coast and Oral Roberts in a doubleheader on Saturday, Jan. 17.
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