Doubles Not Enough as Hogs Fall Short to Vanderbilt 5-2

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas won a tough doubles point, but the Razorbacks could not hold off a Vanderbilt singles rally, falling, 5-2, to the 32nd-ranked Commodores Friday afternoon at the Dills Indoor Tennis Center in Fayetteville.

It was just the fifth time this season the Razorbacks (6-11, 0-3 SEC) have won the doubles point. Arkansas is now 3-2 in those matches.

Friday was also the first home match for the Razorbacks since February 9. Arkansas is now 3-2 at home this year.

This is the first win for the Commodores over the Hogs since 2004, snapping a three-match win streak for the Razorbacks.

Vanderbilt (7-5, 2-1) won the first doubles match, court three, to finish, and the Razorbacks’ team of Blake Strode and Colin Mascall answered at No. 1 with a win of their own. The point hinged on the contest at No. 2, where Arkansas’ pair of freshmen Jorge Villanueva and Dmitry Vlaskin out-dueled Vanderbilt’s tandem of Jordan Magarik and Andy Mack, 9-7.

The Commodores took control of the match by winning the first set in five of the six singles matches. Arkansas freshmen Dmitry Lebedev recorded the Hogs’ lone win at No. 5 when the Commodores’ Nathan Sachs was forced to retire from the match.

The match was scheduled to be played outdoors at the UA Outdoor Tennis Complex, but rainy weather in the Fayetteville area forced the match to be moved to the Dills Indoor Tennis Center.

Arkansas is back on the courts Sunday when it hosts 47th-ranked Kentucky. The contest is set to begin at 1 p.m. at the UA Outdoor Tennis Complex.

#32 Vanderbilt 5, Arkansas 2

March 9, 2007

Dills Indoor Tennis Center, Fayetteville, Ark.

Singles

1. #32 Ryan Preston (VU) def. #90 Blake Strode (ARK), 6-3, 7-6(6)

2. Nik Cromydas (VU) def. Colin Mascall (ARK), 6-4, 6-4

3. Evan Dufaux (VU) def. Andrei Nicoara (ARK), 7-6(5), 7-5

4. Vijay Paul (VU) def. Dmitry Vlaskin (ARK), 7-5, 6-4

5. Dmitry Lebedev (ARK) def. Nathan Sachs (VU), 6-2, 4-6, 2-2 (ret.)

6. Andy Mack (VU) def. Jorge Villanueva (ARK), 6-0, 6-0

Doubles

1. Strode/Mascall (ARK) def. Preston/Dufaux (VU), 8-5

2. Villanueva/Vlaskin (ARK) def. Mack/Jordan Magarik (VU), 9-7

3. Sachs/Paul (VU) def. Gabriel Mattos/Bradwin Williams (ARK), 8-2

— HOGS —