@RazorbackMTEN Closes Regular Season with No. 8 Georgia and South Carolina

April 7, 2015

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas men’s tennis (11-13, 1-9 SEC) hits the road this week to battle a pair of Southeastern Conference opponents in its final regular season matches of 2015. The Razorbacks will first face No. 8 Georgia (17-3, 9-1 SEC) at the Dan McGill Tennis Center in Athens, Georgia at 4 p.m., CT on Thursday before taking on South Carolina (12-13, 2-8 SEC) at the Carolina Tennis Center in Columbia, South Carolina at 10 a.m., CT on Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT:
Arkansas men’s tennis dropped a pair of matches at home last week, first falling to Kentucky, 4-1, on Thursday and then to Tennessee, 4-0, on Saturday. Playing in the No. 1 position, the Razorback duo of freshman Branch Terrell and junior Santiago Munoz claimed its first ranked win of the season, bettering No. 59 Kevin Lai and Beck Pennington of Kentucky, 6-3. Munoz did well in singles too, collecting the lone Arkansas singles victory of last week. The junior defeated Kentucky’s Trey Yates, 6-3, 6-3, in the No. 4 position.

After losing the doubles point against Tennessee, the Razorbacks made a comeback late in singles play, pushing four courts to hard-fought third sets. But Arkansas could not hold on for the win as it fell in the No. 1, 2 and 6 spots.

IN THE RANKINGS:
Giammarco Micolani came in at No. 93 in the ITA singles rankings released on April 7. The junior claimed the spot after beating two ranked opponents this spring. Micolani defeated No. 98 Jacob Sude of Oklahoma State, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 10-8, on Feb. 8 and reigning SEC Player of the Year, No. 23 Nik Scholtz (Ole Miss), 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, on March 12.

A LOOK AT NO. 8 GEORGIA (17-3, 9-1 SEC):
Georgia men’s tennis has won 11 of its last 12 matches, with its only defeat coming to Mississippi State on April 3. Most recently, the Bulldogs defeated Alabama, 4-1, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on April 5.

Three Georgia players are currently ranked in the ITA singles top 125: Nathan Pasha (No. 25), Wayne Montgomery (No. 27) and Austin Smith (No. 34). The Bulldogs also have three doubles teams in the rankings: Ben Wagland and Smith (No. 1), Wagland and Paul Oosterbaan (No. 46) and Smith and Eric Diaz (No. 68).

A LOOK AT SOUTH CAROLINA (12-13, 2-8 SEC):
The University of South Carolina men’s tennis team dropped a 4-1 decision to Mississippi State in Starkville, Mississippi on Sunday. Playing in the No. 4 spot, Thiago Pinheiro claimed a 6-1, 6-1 win over Mississippi State’s No. 122 Tassilo Schmid to claim the lone Gamecock point of the match. South Carolina will face No. 14 Ole Miss on Thursday before hosting Arkansas on Saturday.

The Gamecocks have two doubles teams in the rankings: Kyle Koch and Pinheiro (No. 39) and Thomas Mayronne and Harrison O’Keefe (No. 74).

LIVE STATS:
Follow Thursday’s match against Georgia HERE and Saturday’s match against South Carolina HERE.

For more information on Arkansas men’s tennis, follow @RazorbackMTEN on Twitter.