Hog Tennis Opens Up at NCAA Singles Championship on Wednesday

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas sophomore Blake Strodeand junior Colin Mascall will begin play at the NCAA Singles Championship on Wednesday and the NCAA Doubles Championship on Thursday.

The NCAA Tennis Singles and Doubles Championships will take place in Athens, Ga., on the campus of the University of Georgia. The singles and doubles competition will be conducted May 23-28 at Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

Strode qualified for the Singles Championship with an at-large bid while he and Mascall were named the fourth alternate team for the Doubles Championship. They were entered into the bracket on Monday after four doubles teams scratched.

Strode will face No. 48 Andreas Weber of Hawaii, Wed., May 23, at 2 p.m., in the opening round of singles play. Weber posted a season record of 22-4 in singles and 10-18 playing doubles.

Strode and Mascall will take on No. 6 Marco Born and Andreas Siljestrom of Middle Tennessee, Thurs., May 24, to start doubles play. Born and Siljestrom posted a doubles record of 34-6 this season.

Strode is ranked 44thin the latest FILA/ITA rankings. He posted a season singles record of 26-10 and played strictly at No. 1 singles for the Razorbacks this spring, sporting a 17-7 dual-match record and a 7-4 mark in SEC play. Strode is 9-6 against ranked opponents and finished the regular season with six straight wins, the last five coming against ranked foes. Against the top 50, he has posted a record of 5-4.

Currently ranked No. 36 in the FILA/ITA poll, Mascall and Strode played at No. 1 doubles throughout the season. The duo posted records of 19-9 overall, 15-8 in dual matches and 6-6 in the SEC.

For a complete listing of teams and individuals accepted into the NCAA Tennis Championships, visit www.ncaasports.com or www.georgiadogs.com.

Download: NCAA notes.pdf