Razorbacks Sweep Saturday Doubleheader Against FGCU, Oral Roberts
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas men’s tennis team (4-0) swept its doubleheader against FGCU (1-5) and Oral Roberts (1-2), defeating the Eagles 4-0 before a 4-0 victory over the Golden Eagles Saturday at Billingsley Tennis Center.
The Razorbacks grabbed the early advantage in the opening match with wins on courts one and three to obtain the doubles point. Brendan Boland and Dmitry Kopilevich earned their second victory of the season after a 6-3 win against Michalowski/Smith at the No. 3 position. No. 67 Eric Padgham and Ben Weintraub were able to quickly wrap up the doubles point with a 6-2 win over Bunjes/Paternostro to give the Hogs the advantage heading into singles play.
The momentum continued into singles play as the team took the first set on five courts and eventually securing the match with three straight singles wins. On court six, Padgham picked up his second dual victory after a commanding 6-0, 6-1 win against Smith, while Gabriel Elicha Navas grabbed a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Correa at the No. 4 position.
Arkansas clinched the match as Lukas Palovic cruised to a straight-set win against Paternostro at the top spot. This was his third win over the opposing No. 1 seeded player to begin the season.
The Hogs took an early lead in the second match versus Oral Roberts with a doubles sweep. Boland and Kopilevich teamed up to obtain a dominant 6-1 victory over Cheek/Reklevicius on court two, while Elicha Navas and Weintraub picked up a 6-2 win against Couy/Pensavalle in the third spot to secure the doubles point for the Razorbacks.
Connor Smillie coasted to his first singles victory of the spring, defeating Pensavalle 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 6 position to add to the Arkansas lead. Kopilevich followed with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Bonifasi on court three, while Elicha Navas clinched the match for the Razorbacks after a 6-0, 6-1 victory against Cheek at the No. 4 position.
The Hogs travel to Tulsa, Okla. on Monday, Jan. 19 to face Tulsa at 6 p.m. before a trip to the East coast to take on Yale at 2 p.m. CT on Friday, Jan. 23 and Penn on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 11 a.m.
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