No. 30 Tennessee Takes Down Hogs 7-0
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas finished its opening weekend of Southeastern Conference play Sunday afternoon, falling on the road to 30th-ranked Tennessee, 7-0, at the Goodfriend Indoor Tennis Center in Knoxville, Tenn.
Arkansas (6-9, 0-2 SEC) was playing its sixth consecutive match on the road, while Tennessee (7-3, 1-1) evened its SEC record after losing, 4-3, Friday to No. 20 LSU.
The Razorbacks lost a closely contested doubles point. Tennessee claimed the first match of the court at No. 2 doubles, with Kaden Hensel and Derek Stephens teaming to knock off the Hogs’ combo of freshmen Jorge Villanueva and Dmitry Vlaskin, 8-2. Arkansas rebounded with its 15th-ranked pair at No. 1, Blake Strode and Colin Mascall, edging UT’s Adam Hubble and Ben Rogers, 8-6. Tennessee would then earn the doubles point on court three, where the Volunteer team of Davey Sandgren and Kiril Tcherveniachki outlasted another pair of Hog freshmen, Gabriel Mattos and Bradwin Williams, 8-6.
Tennessee quickly went ahead 3-0 with wins at No.’s 3 and 4. The clinching match came on court two, where Arkansas’ Mascall breezed in the first set, but could not hang on, dropping a tough decision to Sandgren, 0-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Strode also fell in three sets at No. 1, 6-3, 2-6, 6-0, to 29th-ranked Kaden Hensel.
Due to the Goodfriend Center having only four courts, the matches at positions five and six could not begin until other courts were clear. Tennessee won both matches.
The Tennessee match was the sixth of seven consecutive on the road for the Razorbacks. The Hogs conclude their seven-match road swing at rival Texas Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Austin, Texas.
Arkansas returns to SEC action Friday when it hosts Vanderbilt at the UA Outdoor Tennis Complex in Fayetteville. It will be the Hogs’ first match in Fayetteville since Feb. 9. The match is set for 1:30 p.m.
#30 Tennessee 7, Arkansas 0
March 4, 2007
Knoxville, Tenn.
Singles
1. #29 Kaden Hensel (UT) def. #72 Blake Strode (AR), 6-3, 2-6, 6-0
2. Davey Sandgren (UT) def. Colin Mascall (AR), 0-6, 6-2, 6-4
3. Derek Stephens (UT) def. Dmitry Vlaskin (AR), 6-1, 6-0
4. Ben Rogers (UT) def. Dmitry Lebedev (AR), 7-5, 6-2
5. Kiril Tcherveniachki (UT) def. Bradwin Williams (AR), 6-1, 6-0
6. Adam Hubble (UT) def. Jorge Villanueva (AR), 6-3
Doubles
1. #15 Mascall/Strode (AR) def. Hubble/Rogers (UT), 8-6
2. Hensel/Stephens (UT) def. Villanueva/Vlaskin (AR), 8-2
3. Sandgren/Tcherveniachki (UT) def. Mattos/Williams, 8-6
