Walters earns SEC Player of the Week

FAYETTEVILLE – Senior Matt Walters was recognized as the SEC Player of the Week Wednesday by the league offices in Birmingham, Ala. With the Razorbacks fresh off an undefeated 5-0 start, Walters has not only shown leadership as one of the two team captains, but he has also backed up his leadership with strong play in the singles lineup and even better play in the doubles lineup with teammate Hall Fess.

“This is great to see for Matt,” Arkansas head coach Robert Cox said. “He went 4-0 over the weekend winning both singles and doubles matches. Matt showed his senior experience, captaincy and his spirit at the number three position, which is not a position he has played in very much during his career here. He not only played there over the weekend, but he played well. I couldn’t be happier with the way Matt played over the weekend and the way he has been playing all season.”

Walters earned two singles wins and two doubles wins over the weekend against Iowa and a ranked DePaul team. With all of his wins, he keeps a strong hold on the top spot on the team in both singles and doubles. His two singles wins keeps his streak alive at five straight matches dating back to the fall season. His win against Sven Kasper of DePaul was his tenth win of the season and moves him to 10-2 on the year with a perfect 4-0 dual match record.

In doubles, he and Hall Fess have been the dominate team so far in winning 11 of their first 12 matches this year. Their 11 wins are good for tops on the team and all of their dual wins have come from the No. 1 spot. Currently, the duo is on a seven match winning streak and has helped Arkansas start the season with an undefeated 5-0 record. 

Walters will try to keep his good start to the season going this weekend as the Razorbacks face No. 67 Purdue on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Stetson on Sunday at 2 p.m.  Both matches will be played at the Billingsley Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas.

 

Feb. 3 Matt Hagan (IOWA) W/6-2, 6-1

Feb. 4 Sven Kasper (DEP) W/6-1, 6-4

Feb. 3 Michael Swank/Garret Dunn (IOWA) W/8-6

Feb. 4 George Chanturia/Filip Dzanko (DEP) W/8-6