Smillie, Vrba Secure Ranked Victory as No. 36 Men's Tennis Drops Match to No. 28 Georgia

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 36 Arkansas men’s tennis team (14-9, 3-6) dropped its match to No. 28 Georgia (11-7, 5-3), falling 4-0 Sunday at Billingsley Tennis Center.

In doubles play, the Bulldogs took the early advantage after a victory on court three as Perez Peña/Vulpitta defeated Brendan Boland and Marino Jakic, 6-1. The Razorbacks responded with No. 48 Connor Smillie and Jakub Vrba earning their fourth ranked win and 10th victory this spring after a 6-3 win over No. 26 Blaydes/Ratiu in the top spot. The doubles point came down to the No. 2 position as Paulsell/Pinto Sansano clinched the point for Georgia with a 6-3 victory against Božo Barun and Benni Emesz.

The Bulldogs carried their momentum into singles play, winning on courts one, two and four to secure the victory. At the No. 1 position, No. 31 Perez Peña grabbed a straight-set win over Barun, while Jakic dropped his match to Pinto Sansano on court four, 3-6, 2-6. Georgia clinched the match at the No. 2 position as No. 34 Colby bested No. 80 Lukas Palovic, 6-1, 6-4.

Emesz and Vrba each claimed the first set on courts five and three, respectively, before their matches went unfinished in the second set. Arthur Bellegy fell 4-6 in the first set to Costa at the No. 6 position and held a 5-3 lead in the next set as his match concluded.

The Hogs hit the road next week to face No. 20 Mississippi State on Thursday, March 27 before a doubleheader on Sunday, March 29 against No. 27 Auburn and Alabama State.