Nott advances at All-American Walters wins again

TULSA, Okla. – On Sunday afternoon, Razorback Chris Nott rolled into the All-American qualifying round, beating Miami’s Ignacio Taboada soundly, 6-3, 6-0 while Matt Walters continued racking up wins at the South Carolina Invitational against Louisville, taking down Tim Barnoud in two love sets, 6-0, 6-0.

Nott’s final win in the All-American pre-qualifying round in Tulsa, Okla. earned him a spot in the qualifying tournament, beginning Monday. Also playing in the final round of pre-qualifying, Dmitry Lebedev was halted from winning his fourth straight match, losing in straight sets to Oklahoma’s Ionut Beleleu, 6-1, 6-4. Although Lebedev was eliminated through play from the tournament, he will be the first alternate added to the qualifying tournament if another player withdraws.

“Chris and Dmitry played strong tennis this weekend; I’m very proud of Chris for qualifying and moving on to join Matt Hogan in the qualifying draw on Monday. Dmitry had a great weekend and fought hard in his match today although he lost,” said Arkansas coach Robert Cox.

In the final day of the South Carolina Invitational, Arkansas played Louisville in singles and freshman Matt Walters’ dominant play earned the Razorbacks their only win of the day.

“Matt played his best tennis of the weekend today,” said Cox. “He really grew up this weekend, being exposed to high quality tennis in the matches he played. We’re all very impressed with Matt’s competitiveness, an asset that will greatly help the team this season.”

Senior Connor Smith lost a difficult match to Adam Donaldson in three sets, 1-6, 7-6(4), 1-0(7). Also matching up against Lousiville were Hogs Bradwin Williams, Tyler Tarnasky, Taylor King, Nick Spinazze, and Tariq Ismail.

“I’m very impressed by the way everyone played this weekend, improving with each of their matches. The tournament was a huge success for us,” Cox said.

On Monday, Arkansas netters Nott and Hogan begin play in the All-American qualifying draw in Tulsa, Okla. Hogan will face John Peers of Middle Tennessee State at 12:30 p.m. in his first round match and Nott will play Hawaii’s Dennis Lajola at 4:30 p.m. Live video and stats of both Hogan and Nott’s matches will be available at http://tulsahurricane.cstv.com/. For complete men’s tennis coverage, log on to www.ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

Sunday’s South Carolina Invite Results, Arkansas vs. Louisville:

Matt Walters def. Tim Barnoud 6-0, 6-0

Viktor Maksimcuk def. Bradwin Williams 6-2, 6-2

Robert Rotaru def. Tyler Tarnasky 6-2, 6-2

Alejandro Calligari def. Taylor King 6-2, 6-3

Andrew Carter def. Nick Spinazze 7-5, 6-3

Adam Donaldson def. Connor Smith 1-6, 7-6(4), 1-0(7)