Razorbacks Open SEC Home Slate
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark – After five matches on the road, the Arkansas men’s tennis team returns home for its next seven matches, including four matches over two match days this weekend at the Billingsley Tennis Center.
Arkansas (8-6, 2-1 SEC) will host South Carolina in its Southeastern Conference home opener on Thursday at 6 p.m. and host its third-nationally ranked team of the season in No. 16 Florida on Saturday at 6 p.m. Arkansas will also play a doubleheader against Nebraska-Omaha that will follow the conclusion of the match against Florida on Saturday.
“We are looking forward to this weekend,” head coach Andy Jackson said. “We are hoping to play outside on the newly completed courts.The new additional courts will allow matches to be played all together on one side and the new lights are fantastic. No doubt these improvements will help us and we are exited for the South Carolina match on Thursday night.”
Arkansas split its two SEC road matches this past week, defeating Tennessee 4-3 on Friday in Knoxville and falling to No. 11 Georgia 4-3 on Sunday in Athens. Jose Salazar, the No. 24 player in the nation, forced a tiebreaker in the second set and then clinched the win over Tennessee with a 6-1, 7-6(4) win over Luis Valero at No. 2 singles.
Seeking its first win over a top-25 team this season, Arkansas won three of the first four singles matches, to extend the match into the final two singles matches, before falling to No. 11 Georgia. Sixth-ranked Mike Redlicki defeated No. 26 Wayne Montgomery 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles, while Salazar defeated No. 99 Nathan Ponwith 6-4, 7-6(7) at No. 2 singles.
Redlicki is 22-6 overall and 13-3 against ranked opponents in singles play, while Salazar is 21-5 overall and 4-3 against ranked opponents. Salazar has won seven matches in a row and is a team-best 10-2 overall and 2-0 against ranked opponents this spring. The duo is also 9-2 in doubles play, including 6-1 this spring.
South Carolina (12-4, 1-2 SEC) is the first team ranked outside of the top 25, checking in at No. 26 in the latest Oracle/ITA national team rankings. South Carolina has one ranked singles player in No. 51 Gabriel Friedrich.
Florida (9-6, 2-1 SEC) is the second-highest ranked SEC team at No. 16 in the latest Oracle/ITA national team rankings. Florida defeated No. 8 USC, No. 6 UCLA and No. 16 Mississippi State in the nonconference and also has a win over No. 23 South Carolina in conference play.
Florida has a trio of ranked singles players in No. 10 Alfredo Perez, setting up a top-10 matchup with Redlicki at No. 1 singles, and No. 79 Elliott Orkin and No. 106 McClain Kessler and the Southeastern Conference’s top-ranked and the nation’s No. 4-ranked doubles team of Johannes Ingildsen and Alfredo Perez.
Nebraska-Omaha (5-6) is led by the 57th-ranked singles player in Razvan Grigorescu, who enters the weekend with a 9-1 record, including a win over Oklahoma’s Spencer Papa, the No. 21 player in the nation.
Arkansas concludes the seven-match home stand with three matches next weekend. Arkansas will host No. 21 Mississippi State on March 23 and Auburn and Saint Louis on March 25.
Promotions This Weekend:
Thursday, March 16th vs. South Carolina at 6 p.m.
- Enter to win two tickets to the baseball game vs. Mississippi State (Friday, March 17)
- Razorback Tennis koozies for the first 50 fans
- Free pizza, popcorn and drinks for all fans
Saturday, March 18th vs. No. 16 Florida at 6 p.m.
- Enter to win two tickets to the baseball game vs. Mississippi State (Sunday, March 19)
- Razorback Tennis visors for the first 50 fans
- Free pizza, popcorn and drinks for all fans
For more information on Razorback men’s tennis, please follow @RazorbackMTEN on Twitter.
