Hogs looking for first win this weekend

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 45 University of Arkansas men’s tennis team is on the road again this weekend, traveling to West Lafayette, Ind., looking for their first dual wins of the spring against Illinois State and Purdue after a tough weekend at the ITA National Indoor Invite where they fell to No. 5 Virginia and No. 34 Wisconsin.The Razorbacks (0-2) last saw Illinois State in October when the Redbirds were in Fayetteville for the Wilson/ITA Central Region Championships. The Hogs did not play Illinois State in doubles but went 3-1 against them in singles as Taylor King, Dmitry Lebedev and Tyler Tarnasky each defeated their Redbird foes.

The last dual match between the two teams was during the 2007 season at the ITA Central Region Indoor Team Playoff event in Tulsa, Okla. At the match, the Razorbacks lost the doubles point but overwhelmed the Redbirds in singles as then-No. 54 Blake Strode, Colin Mascall, Gabriel Mattos and Drew Sosebee swept past their opponents in straight sets.

Against the Boilermakers last year, the Hogs picked up a close 4-3 victory. Arkansas won the doubles point behind the teams of Strode and Mascall and Matt Hogan and Tarnasky, taking a 1-0 lead into singles play. The Razorbacks and Boilermakers split their singles matches with Hogs Chris Nott, Hogan and then-No. 76 Strode recording wins on the day.

This weekend, first serve against Illinois State is scheduled for noon on Saturday at the Dennis J. and Mary Lou Schwartz Tennis Center on the Purdue University campus. The Razorbacks will face Purdue at noon on Sunday. For complete coverage of Razorback men’s tennis, log onto www.ArkansasRazorbacks.com.