No. 39 Men's Tennis Splits Home Doubleheader Against No. 18 Tennessee, Southern Miss
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 39 Arkansas men’s tennis team (13-5, 2-2) split its home doubleheader on Sunday, falling 4-2 to No. 18 Tennessee (10-5, 1-3) before rebounding with a 4-0 win over Southern Miss (1-7) at Billingsley Tennis Center.
The Volunteers grabbed the early advantage in the opening match with wins on courts one and two to obtain the doubles point. No. 26 Kotzen/Moreno defeated Connor Smillie and Jakub Vrba 6-2 at the top spot, while the Razorbacks responded with a 6-2 victory from Brendan Boland and Marino Jakic against Kobierski/Newton on court three. Tennessee’s Jesudason/Mitsui closed it out at the No. 2 position after a 6-3 win over Božo Barun/Benni Emesz to clinch the doubles point.
Tennessee struck first in singles play as Garcia took down Jakic in straight sets on court three, while the Hogs answered with a 6-2, 6-1 victory from Palovic against No. 16 Mitsui at the No. 2 position. The win for Palovic marks the first ranked victory of his collegiate career and the highest ranked singles win for a Razorback since April 7, 2018, when Jose Salazar bested No. 4 Nuno Borges (Mississippi State).
The Vols extended their lead following a 6-1, 6-3 victory from Cruz over Arthur Bellegy on court six. No. 102 Vrba earned his second ranked win and first this spring after a 6-3, 6-4 victory against No. 95 Moreno at the No. 4 position. Tennessee clinched the match on court one as No. 31 Kotzen climbed back to defeat Barun, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Arkansas regained its momentum in the second match against Southern Miss, earning the doubles point with wins on courts three and one, respectively. Bellegy and Palovic dominated their way to a 6-1 victory over Brady/Sarkar at the No. 3 position, while Smillie and Vrba brought home the doubles point with a 6-3 win against Reansuwong/Spaks in the top spot. Jean-Baptiste Badon and Brendan Boland’s match on court two versus Noltorp/Sodhi went unfinished with the score tied 4-4.
In singles play, the Razorbacks continued to roll by taking the first set on five courts. At the No. 1 position, Palovic collected his third victory of the day up 6-2, 3-0 in the second set before Sodhi retired. Bellegy cruised past Reansuwong 6-0, 6-0 on court three as the Hogs clinched the final point of the match at the No. 5 position with Smillie taking down Sarkar, 6-2, 6-0.
The Razorbacks return to Billingsley Tennis Center on Saturday, March 8 to host No. 25 Alabama at 12 p.m.
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