Arkansas Netters Rebound in 5-2 Win Over Portland

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 62 Arkansas men’s tennis team bounced back from a loss the previous night to defeat the University of Portland, 5-2, Sunday in Seattle. The Razorbacks (7-4) swept the doubles point and won matches at four of the six singles positions against the Pilots. Arkansas’ seven wins matches the team’s total from the 2007 season.

“It was a good way to bounce back from a less-than-stellar result last night (against No. 27 Washington),” head coach Robert Cox said. “We were able to forget about that and beat a very good Portland team today.”

The Razorbacks shuffled their doubles line up and had Taylor King and Tyler Tarnasky playing at the top spot against Portland. They responded with an 8-7 win over Filip Zivkovic and Charlie Yemm. Blake Strode and Colin Mascall, playing at No. 2 doubles, took down Bryan Thorp and Evan Schleining, 8-1. At the third lineup slot, Dmitry Lebedev and Matt Hogan earned an 8-3 victory against Joel Kincaid and Renaldo Domoney.

In singles action, Strode earned his 13th victory of the season with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Kincaid. The Razorbacks also picked up wins at the bottom three spots in the lineup from Nott, Lebedev and Tarnasky, respectively. Nott was a straight sets winner over Schleining, 6-3, 6-2. Lebedev was extended to three sets after dropping the first to Thorp but prevailed, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, to win his fifth consecutive match. Tarnasky defeated Yemm at the No. 6 position, 6-4, 6-3.

Hogan, playing at the No. 2 spot for the first time, dropped a tight three-set match to Zivkovic, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6. Mascall also won the first set in his match against Dillon Pottish, but lost the match in a third-set super tiebreak, 5-7, 7-5, 1-0(8).

The Razorbacks now turn their attention to Southeastern Conference play which begins Feb. 29 on the road against Auburn. Log on to www.hogwired.com for more news about Arkansas tennis.

No. 62 Arkansas 5, Portland 2

Feb. 24, 2008

Seattle, Wash.

Singles

1. #95 Blake Strode (UA) def. Joel Kincaid (UP), 6-3, 6-3

2. Filip Zivkovic (UP) def. Matt Hogan (UA), 5-7, 6-4, 7-6

3. Dillon Pottish (UP) def. Colin Mascall (UA), 5-7, 7-5, 1-0(8)

4. Chris Nott (UA) def. Evan Schleining (UP), 6-3, 6-2

5. Dmitry Lebedev (UA) def. Bryan Thorp (UP), 3-6, 6-1, 6-2

6. Tyler Tarnasky (UA) def. Charlie Yemm (UP), 6-4, 6-3

Doubles

1. Taylor King/Tyler Tarnasky (UA) def. Filip Zivkovic/Charlie Yemm (UP), 8-7

2. Blake Strode/Colin Mascall (UA) def. Bryan Thorp/Evan Schleining (UP), 8-1

3. Dmitry Lebedev/Matt Hogan (UA) def. Joel Kincaid/Renaldo Domoney (UP), 8-4