Men's Tennis Fact Sheet #14

This weekThe No. 47 Razorbacks are on the road at LSU on Saturday for their final regular season match of the year. Match time is scheduled for Noon at the W.T. ‘Dub’ Tennis Center.

Last time outArkansas dropped both matches in it final home stand of the season. falling, 4-3 to Mississippi State on Friday and losing 5-2 to Ole Miss Sunday.

How Cox sees it (Mississippi State)“It was a tough loss for us today. Mississippi State never gave up, fought hard and jumped on us in singles.”

How Cox sees it (Ole Miss)“We were disappointed in the doubles loss,” Cox said. “We played well but Ole Miss took advantage of the mistakes we made at the end and it cost us. This season doubles has been the key for us, so losing that point was hard on us.”

Cox on seniors Blake Strode and Connor Smith“Blake did really well, finishing out his career at home with a win. Any program in the country would be proud to have him on its team and we’re blessed to have had him here for four years. He’s represented us well.”

“Connor played well. I was pleased to see him push his opponent. Connor made him work for it.”

Scouting LSUThe 31st-ranked LSU men’s tennis team owns an 8-10 dual season record with the team’s biggest win coming over then- 17th-ranked South Carolina. LSU most recently defeated 69th-ranked Mississippi State in Baton Rouge by a 4-2 mark to push its Southeastern Conference record to 3-7. The Tigers are led in competition by seventh-ranked LSU senior Michael Venus with an 11-6 record in singles at the No. 1 position. Freshman Neal Skupski is a close second behind Venus with a 10-7 record in the dual season. Combined, Venus and Skupski post as the No. 6 doubles team with a 10-7 record and most recently defeated the second-ranked duo of Jonas Berg and Bram ten Berge by an 8-4 mark against Ole Miss.

Strode earns career-win 93With his win over No. 23 Jonas Berg on Sunday, Blake Strode moved into a tie with former Hog Jose Lambert for the sixth-most singles victories in Arkansas history. A win this weekend would move him into a tie for fifth place.

SEC ChampionshipsThe Razorbacks will travel to Auburn, Ala. next week for the Southeastern Conference Championships, running April 23-26. The first match for the Hogs will be Thursday April 23. Last year at the SEC Championships in Fayetteville, the Hogs lost to Vanderbilt in the first round, 4-3.

Download: 4.14 Notes 14.pdf