Hogs strong start in Fayetteville
FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas men’s tennis team delivered strong performance at the Razorback Classic at the George M. Bilingsley Tennis Center and Dills Indoor Stadium. Four Arkansas Razorbacks made their debut Friday including, seniors Taylor King and Bradwin Williams, junior Nicholas Spinazze and sophomore Nikolas Zojag. They dominated the courts in the opening rounds of competition, with a 12-0 record in both singles and doubles.
“Their hard work and practice paid off,” Arkansas head coach Robert Cox said. “I am proud of these four Razorbacks and how well they played.”
King proved to be a strong contender for the Razorbacks defeating Jamie Dash of SDSU, 6-1, 6-1, in the first round. The Razorback’s momentum continued with back-to-back wins. King returned to the court to win over UMKC’s Gustavo Guerin in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. Williams defeated Justin Pyles of SDSU, 6-4, 6-1. He then went on to top Serge Ristivojevic of UMKC, 6-2, 6-4. Spinazze rolled over the competition defeating Alex Lauseng of SDSU, 6-1, 6-1, followed by, 7-5, 6-2, victory over David Heckler of UMKC. Zojag showed his potential defeating Evans Sims of SDSU, 6-0, 6,0, and UMKC’s Erwin Quintanilla, 6-1, 6-1.
“Today was a great start for the Razorbacks and we hope to continue to be successful throughout the weekend,” Cox said. “ Our players came out on fire and proved that we belong at the top.”
The winning streak continued, as the Razorbacks were unbeatable in doubles play. Williams and King were fierce at the net with an 8-3 win over Pyles and Dash of SDSU. They went on to claim victory against UMKC’s Ristivojevic and Guerin, 8-3. The Razorbacks did not let up as Spinazze and Zogaj defeated Lauseng and Evans Sims of UMKC, 8-1, and Quintanilla and Heckler of UMKC, 8-2.
Action continues Saturday beginning with doubles play at 9 a.m. Central time. Two rounds of singles will follow.
Day 1 Complete ResultsSINGLESFLIGHT 1Bradwin Williams (ARK) def. Justin Pyle (SDSU) 6-4, 6-1Mario Jakovljevic (TJC) def. Rosetto (SDSU) 6-2,6-1Anten Bobytski (OSU) def. Zach Alholm (UMKC) 6-0, 6-0Stan Rodier (TJC) def. Serge Ristivojevic (UMKC) 1-6, 6-4, 6-0Bradwin Williams (ARK) def. Serge Ristivojevic (UMKC) 6-2, 6-4Rodier (TJC) def. Alholm (UMKC) 6-3, 6-1FLIGHT 2Taylor King (ARK) def. Jamie Dash (SDSU) 6-1,6-1Pier Pieracciani (TJC) def. Jameson Goetz (SDSU) 6-2, 6-4Aleksey Bessonov (OSU) def. Nick Hays (UMKC) 6-2, 6-2Gustavo Guerin (UMKC) def. John Devose (TJC) 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-5King (ARK) def. Guerin (UMKC) 6-2, 6-2Devose (TJC) def. Monaco (UMC) 6-4, 6-3FLIGHT 3Nikolas Zojag (ARK) def. Evan Sims (UDSU) 6-0, 6-0Gianmarco Velez (TJC) def. Dan Tully (SDSU) 6-0, 6-0Eric West (OSU) def. Nick Monaco (UMKC) 6-2, 6-3Pete Thomason (TJC) def. Erwin Quintanilla (UMKC) 6-0, 6-3Nikolas Zogaj (ARK) def. Erwin Quintanilla (UMKC) 6-1, 6-0Thomason (TJC) def. Hays (TJC) 6-1, 6-3FLIGHT 4Nick Spinazze (ARK) def. Alex Lauseng (UDSU) 6-1, 6-0Colby Meeks (TJC) def. Jeff Moffatt (SDSU) 6-1, 6-1 Trevor Hortsmann (OSU) def. Billy Bishop (TJC) 6-3, 6-2Mario Lopez (TJC) def. David Heckler (UMKC) 6-4, 6-4Nick Spinazze (ARK) def. David Heckler (UMKC) 7-5, 6-2Lopez (TJC) def. Bishop (TJC) 6-1, 6-1DoublesFLIGHT 1King/Williams (Ark) def. Pyle/ Dash (SDSU) 8-3Jakovljevic/Pieracciani (TJC) def. Rossetto/Goetz (SDSU) 8-5Bobytski/West (OSU) def. Monaco/Hays (UMKC) 8-3Ristivojevic/Guerin (UMKC) def. Rodier/Thomason (TJC) 8-4King/Williams (ARK) def. Ristivojevic/Guerin (UMKC) 8-3Rodier/Thomason (TJC) def. Monaco/Hays (UMKC) 8-5FLIGHT 2Spinazze/ Zogaj (Ark) def. Lauseng/ Sims (SDSU) 8-1Meeks/Bishop (TJC) def. Dan Tully/Moffatt (SDSU) 8-1Bessonov/ Hortsmann (OSU) def. Alholm/Bishop (UMKC) 8-4Devose/Lopez (TJC) def. Heckler/Quintanilla (UMKC) 8-3Spinazze/Zojag (ARK) def. Quintanilla/Heckler (UMKC) 8-2Devose/Lopez (TJC) def. Alholm/Bishop (UKMC) 9-8 (3)
