Hogs triumphant at Baylor

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas men’s tennis team had a triumphant season opener, with big wins in both singles and doubles at the HEB Baylor Invitational.

The Hogs top singles player, No. 94 Chris Nott had a victorious debut crushing his opponents, including wins over Rafael Garcia of Texas Tech, 6-3, 6-1, and Texas A&M’s Jeff Dadamo, 7-6(6), 6-3. He will face Tulsa’s Phillip Stevens Saturday in the round 16.

“Today there was a lot of tough competition against quality opponents,” assistant coach Eduardo Rincon said. “I am glad to see the guys are playing good tennis. It is nice to see the work done on the court and in the weight room are paying off.”

Matt Hogan faced a tough first match against the tournament’s No. 3 seed Bruno Rosa of Rice, falling in straight-sets, 7-5, 6-3. Hogan came back to defeat UTA’s Mindavgas Celedinas.

“Matt played a tough player to the limit,” Rincon said. “He rebounded to come back and win his second match. I am very happy about today’s results.”

In doubles action, Nott and Hogan’s combined force defeated ULL’s Piotr Olechowski and Javier Pulgar-Garcia in the first round, 8-3.The duo battled late into the night to clinch the win 8-6 over the fourth seed Slah Mbarek and Chris Price of TCU.

“It was a successful first day,” Rincon said. “We are having a good tournament and are learning what we need to work on to improve after each match.”

Arkansas resumes court action at 8 a.m. Saturday for day two of the HEB Baylor Invitational.

Singles Draw

Chris Nott (ARK) def. Rafael Garcia (Texas Tech) 6-3, 6-1.

Chris Nott (ARK) def. Jeff Dadamo, (Texas A&M) 7-6(6), 6-3.

Bruno Rosa (Rice) def. Matt Hogan (ARK) 7-5, 6-3.

Matt Hogan def. Mindavgas Celedinas 6-2, 4-0 (Inj.)

Doubles

Chris Nott/Matt Hogan def. ULL’s Piotr Olechowski/Javier Pulgar-Garcia (ULL) 8-3

Chris Nott/Matt Hogan def. TCU’s Slah Mbarek/Chris Price (TCU) 8-6