Comeback Not Enough Against No. 18 Sooners
NORMAN, Okla. – The Arkansas men’s tennis team fell on the road Sunday afternoon to No. 18 Oklahoma 5-2 to move to 1-1 to open the season.
The Sooners jumped out to an early lead after taking wins on court two and three in doubles. After winning their first match together Friday night, senior Jose Salazar and freshman Josh Howard-Tripp dropped to 1-1, falling to the 43rd-ranked duo Jochen Bertsch and Adrian Oetzbach 6-3. After winning Friday night as well, brothers Jose and Pedro Alonso fell Sunday to Alex Bakshi and James Davis 6-2 to more to 1-1 on the year. Adam Sanjurjo and Oscar Mesquida were unable to finish their game for the second straight match, leading 4-2 at the clinch.
In singles, Oklahoma quickly stretched its lead to 3-0 with wins at the No. 2 and 5 spot. Sanjurjo fell to Bakshi 6-2, 6-0, while P. Alonso lost to Bertsch 6-3, 6-1. Howard-Tripp was able to improve to 2-0 so far this season, picking up the first point of the match for Arkansas with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over van Emburgh.
After No. 113 Salazar defeated No. 17 Ferran Calvo in three sets 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, the match came down to the No. 3 spot, where Mesquida was tied 6-6 in a tiebreaker in the second set with Oetzbach. Mesquida was able to win the tiebreaker 7-5, to force the decisive set. In the meantime, J. Alonso also sent his game to the third set, winning 6-4 in the second set, after dropping the tiebreaker 7-5 in the first. Mesquida and J. Alonso would each fall in their final set, as Oklahoma would survive.
Arkansas returns to the court for its home opener next Sunday, as the Razorbacks host the No. 15 Oklahoma State Cowboys for a 1 p.m. serve in the Billingsley Tennis Center.
No. 18 Oklahoma 5, Arkansas 2
Singles competition – Order of finish (2,5,4,1,3,6)
1. No. 113 Jose Salazar (AR) def. No. 17 Ferran Calvo (OU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
2. Alex Bakshi (OU) def. Adam Sanjurjo (AR) 6-2, 6-0
3. Adrian Oetzbach (OU) def. Oscar Mesquida (AR) 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-2
4. Josh Howard-Tripp (AR) def. Jake van Emburgh (OU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Jochen Bertsch (OU) def. Pedro Alonso (AR) 6-3, 6-1
6. Max Stewart (OU) def. Jose Alonso (AR) 6-7 (7), 6-4 ,4-6
Doubles competition – Order of finish (2,3)
1. Sanjurjo/Mesquida (AR) vs. Calvo/van Emburgh (OU) 4-2, unfinished
2. No. 43 Bertsch/Oetzbach (OU) def. Salazar/Howard-Tripp (AR) 6-3
3. Bakshi/Davis (OU) def. J. Alonso/P. Alonso (AR) 6-2
For more information on Razorback men’s tennis, please follow @RazorbackMTEN on Twitter.
