No. 29 Arkansas Continues SEC Play at No. 25 South Carolina, No. 27 Florida

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 29 Arkansas men’s tennis team (14-5, 3-2) hits the road to continue SEC play against No. 25 South Carolina (10-4, 4-1) on Thursday, March 13 at 4 p.m. CT and No. 27 Florida (8-7, 3-3) on Saturday, March 15 at 11 a.m. CT.

The Razorbacks are coming off a thrilling 4-3 upset victory over then-No. 21 Alabama last Saturday. For the second time this season, the Hogs were able to rebound after dropping the doubles point by winning four singles matches to secure the victory against the Crimson Tide. Connor Smillie and Jakub Vrba picked up their second ranked win of the spring together after cruising past No. 42 Kriznik/Planinsek, 6-3.

Arthur Bellegy and No. 124 Vrba recorded the first two points for Arkansas after Alabama took a 2-0 lead. No. 82 Lukas Palovic collected his second ranked win while Benni Emesz followed with a three-set victory to clinch the match for the Razorbacks. Bellegy, Palovic and Vrba have all eclipsed double-digit dual singles wins while the tandem of Connor Smillie and Vrba lead the team in dual doubles victories with eight.

The Hogs moved up five spots to No. 29 in the latest ITA team rankings after the win over the Crimson Tide, marking only the second time under Jay Udwadia that Arkansas has been ranked inside the top 30. The Razorbacks last achieved the feat heading into last year’s NCAA Tournament, where the team was ranked No. 28 before finishing the season at No. 31. Before Udwadia, the Hogs had not reached the top 30 since February 1, 2017.

The No. 25 Gamecocks have started the spring 10-4 and are 4-1 in SEC contests after victories against No. 39 Vanderbilt and No. 51 Ole Miss last weekend on the road. The singles lineup for South Carolina is headed by Casey Hoole in the top spot and Lucas da Silva on court two. The Gamecock lineup also features No. 57 Connor Thomson, No. 79 Sean Daryabeigi and No. 113 Jelani Sarr. The duo of da Sliva and Thomson have earned six doubles wins together and are ranked No. 26 in the ITA doubles rankings.

The No. 27 Gators are off to an 8-7 start this year and are 3-3 in SEC play after losses to No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 4 Texas last weekend on the road. Florida is led by No. 62 Jeremy Jin and No. 95 Adhithya Ganesan, who have primarily competed at the No. 1 and 2 positions this season. Magnus Johnson and No. 90 Henry Jefferson lead the Gators with seven singles victories each while playing on courts one through four. The pairing of No. 19 Jefferson and Tanapatt Nirundorn are 2-1 at the No. 1 position in doubles play while Ganesan, Jefferson and Nirundorn are all tied for the team lead with five wins this spring.

Live coverage of the South Carolina match will be provided by Cracked Racquets as part of the SEC CrossCourt whip-around broadcast streamed on SEC Network+. Live stats & video links for both matches are available on the men’s tennis schedule page.