Razorbacks Fall Short In Hard-Fought Match
ATHENS, Ga. – In a matchup of undefeated teams in Southeastern Conference play, the Arkansas men’s tennis team won three of the first four singles matches, to extend the match into the final two singles matches, before falling to No. 11 Georgia 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
The two teams battled for more than four hours, as Arkansas (8-6, 2-1 SEC) rallied to a 3-2 lead after dropping the doubles point and the first set in three of the first four singles matches. The Razorbacks saw their two-match SEC winning streak and six-match overall winning streak snapped with the loss to the Bulldogs (8-5, 4-0 SEC).
“Proud of our fight and effort from our team today,” head coach Andy Jackson said. “Georgia was able to do what it took to get the win, so obviously we are disappointed. We can do better. Next is South Carolina on Thursday in another top-25 match and we will have to play a better match.”
Arkansas gained an early advantage in doubles play, as Johan den Toom and Branch Terrell won two breaks on the way to a 6-2 win at No. 3 doubles. The No. 60 doubles team of Nathan Ponwith and Emil Reinberg won a decisive break for a 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles.
The doubles point would come down to a tiebreaker at No. 1 doubles between No. 30 Jan Zielinski and Robert Loeb and No. 56 Mike Redlicki and Jose Salazar. Ponwith and Reinberg went on to win 7-6(3) to clinch the doubles point and give Georgia a 1-0 lead in the match.
With the doubles and singles matches moved indoors, Georgia won the first set in three of the first four singles matches. Arkansas battled back to force a third set in all three of those matches, and Oscar Mesquida completed his comeback for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 4 singles, to tie the match at 1-1.
No. 24 Jose Salazar, who won his first set, won a lengthy second-set tiebreaker for a 6-4, 7-6(7) win over No. 99 Nathan Ponwith at No. 2 singles, to give Arkansas a 2-1 lead in the match. Adam Sanjurjo forced a third set at No. 3 singles but was unable to complete the comeback, falling to No. 46 Emil Reinberg, 7-5, 3-6, 6-1.
No. 6 Mike Redlicki forced a third set at No. 1 singles in dramatic fashion. Leading 5-4 in the second set, No. 26 Wayne Montgomery broke back to 5-5, before Redlicki broke right back to 6-5 and then held serve for the 7-5 win in the second set. Redlicki carried that momentum into the third set for the 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over Montgomery and a 3-2 lead for Arkansas.
Almost three hours into the match, play finally began in No. 5 and No. 6 singles. Momentum swung back in favor of Georgia, as the Bulldogs won the first set in both matches. Georgia won key breaks late in the second set, to win in straight sets at No. 6 singles and then No. 5 singles to clinch the 4-3 win.
Notable
- Cold weather moved the matches to the four indoor courts at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
- Arkansas saw its five-match SEC regular season road match winning streak snapped, in addition to a two-match SEC winning streak and six-match overall winning streak snapped.
- Arkansas has won the doubles point in 10 of 14 matches this season.
- Jose Salazar improves to 21-5 overall and 4-3 against ranked opponents in singles play, including a team-best 10-2 overall and 2-0 against ranked opponents this spring.
- Mike Redlicki defeated his 13th ranked opponent of the season, improving to 22-6 overall and 13-3 against ranked opponents in singles play.
Up Next
Arkansas returns home for seven straight home matches over four match days, beginning with No. 23 South Carolina on Thursday. Arkansas will also host No. 15 Florida on Saturday and No. 16 Mississippi State on March 23 during the home stand.
For more information on Razorback men’s tennis, please follow @RazorbackMTEN on Twitter.
