Arkansas Netters Swept by No. 10 Tennessee
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 33 Razorback tennis team dropped a 7-0 decision to No. 10 Tennessee on Friday at the George M. Billingsley Tennis Center. This is the first time Arkansas (10-7, 2-3) has lost to Tennessee in Fayetteville since 2004. The loss also snaps the Razorbacks’ three-match winning streak.
“We have competed really well the last couple weeks but we just didn’t have that today,” head coach Robert Cox said. “We can’t play like that and expect to beat a very good Tennessee team.”
The Volunteers took the early 1-0 lead by winning all three matches during the doubles point. The 17th-ranked team of J.P. Smith and Kaden Hensel beat Colin Mascall and Dmitry Lebedev, 8-1, at the top spot. At No. 2 doubles, Davey Sandgren and Jeremy Tweedt pulled out an 8-5 win over Bradwin Williams and Matt Hogan. Boris Conkic and Matteo Fago defeated Branden Joost and Nick Spinazze, 8-4, on court three.
Tennessee (14-2, 3-2) jumped out to a 3-0 advantage in the dual with wins by Fago and Hensel at No. 5 and 2 singles, respectively. Fago beat Chris Nott in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, while Hensel topped Mascall, 6-2, 6-2.
On court one, No. 90 Blake Strode lost the first set to Smith, the 17th-ranked player in the nation, but took a 5-4 lead in the second set. In his next service game, Smith held to tie the score at 5-all and then broke Strode in the 11th game of the set to take a 6-5 advantage. Smith served out the match, 6-3, 7-5, to clinch the dual for Tennessee.
The Volunteers closed out the final three matches on court to complete the sweep. At No. 3 singles, No. 118 Conkic rallied from a first-set deficit to beat Hogan, 7-5, 6-2. Lebedev had his 10-match winning streak stopped by Sandgren in three sets on court four, 6-0, 4-6, 6-2. Williams won the first set in his singles match with Tweedt, but couldn’t maintain the advantage and lost 6-7, 6-1, 6-3.
The Arkansas netters will next travel to Athens, Ga., for a match Sunday against No. 3 Georgia, the defending national champions. Log on to www.hogwired.com for live stats and complete results.
#10 Tennessee 7, #33 Arkansas 0
March 21, 2008
Fayetteville, Ark.
Singles
*1. #17 J.P. Smith (UT) def. #90 Blake Strode (UA), 6-3, 7-5
2. #117 Kaden Hensel (UT) def. Colin Mascall (UA), 6-2, 6-2
3. #118 Boris Conkic (UT) def. Matt Hogan (UA), 7-5, 6-2
4. Davey Sandgren (UT) def. Dmitry Lebedev (UA), 6-0, 4-6, 6-2
5. Matteo Fago (UT) def. Chris Nott (UA), 6-2, 6-1
6. Jeremy Tweedt (UT) def. Bradwin Williams (UA), 6-7, 6-1, 6-3
Doubles
1. #17 J.P Smith/Kaden Hensel (UT) def. Dmitry Lebedev/Colin Mascall (UA), 8-1
2. Davey Sandgren/Jeremy Tweedt (UT) def. Bradwin Williams/Matt Hogan (UA), 8-5
3. Boris Conkic/Matteo Fago (UT) def. Branden Joost/Nick Spinazze (UA), 8-4
Order of Finish: Doubles (1, 2, 3); Singles (5, 2, *1, 3, 4, 6)
* – clinching match
