Hogs Done at NCAA Tennis; Strode Honored by CoSIDA

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas tennis has completed competition at the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships Thursday, in Athens, Ga. In related news, sophomore Blake Strode was named CoSIDA Academic All-District, it was announced on Thursday.

After winning in three grueling sets in the round of 64 on Wednesday, Strode fell to No. 16 Andre Begemann of Pepperdine, 6-3, 6-3, in the round of 32. Strode ends the season with a record of 27-11 overall.

In 2007, Strode was 10-7 against ranked opponents and finished the regular season with six straight wins, the last five coming against ranked foes. Against the top 50, he posted a record of 6-5. A first-team All-SEC honoree, Strode was ranked as high as No. 43 by the ITA. He has now compiled 54 wins in his two short seasons as a Razorback.

For his outstanding work in the classroom, Strode was named CoSIDA Academic All-District with the potential to be named Academic All-American after another round of voting.

Strode has maintained a 4.0 GPA as double major in International Economics and Spanish. He is also a member of Arkansas’ Honors College and is a recipient of the prestigious Bodenhamer Fellowship, a full-academic scholarship.

In doubles play, Strode and partner Colin Mascall fell to Marco Born and Andreas Siljestrom of Middle Tennessee, 6-2, 6-4. The duo ends the season with a record of 19-10 overall.

The NCAA Tennis Singles and Doubles Championships are taking place in Athens, Ga., on the campus of the University of Georgia. The singles and doubles competition will be conducted May 23-28 at Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

For a complete list of results and brackets from the NCAA Tennis Championships, visit www.ncaasports.com or www.georgiadogs.com.