Razorbacks Find Success During First Day of Navy Invitational
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Arkansas men’s tennis team opened its fall season against the U.S. Naval Academy on the first day of the Navy Invitational. Sophomore Jorge Villanueva came away from the day with two victories, one each in singles and doubles play.
Villanueva was joined in competition by Taylor King and Bradwin Williams. The trio combined with the partial team from the University of Oklahoma to defeat Navy, 6-1, though the result will not count toward the team’s win-loss record.
In singles action, Villanueva defeated Navy’s Jarrad Smoke, 6-1, 6-0. Williams who was extended to three sets but pulled out the victory against Johnny Waters, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, joined his teammate in the winner’s circle.
Taylor King, playing in his first match after redshirting last season due to illness, fell to Ramsey Lemaich, 6-4, 6-4. Despite the loss, head coach Robert Cox was pleased with the effort he saw from King.
“Taylor played very good tennis today in his first match in more than a year,” Cox said. “It was good to see him back out on the courts.”
During doubles play, Villanueva teamed with Oklahoma’s Sergey Avdeyev and beat the Navy duo of Smoke and Jason Hill, 9-7. King and Williams paired together in an 8-6 loss to Lemaich and Alex James.
“As the day went on, we started to play better tennis,” Cox said. “Today was a good base for the start of the fall season and I was pleased with what I saw from our guys.”
The Razorbacks will return to action Saturday against the team from St. Joseph’s during day two of the Navy Invitational. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT. Log on to www.hogwired.com for complete results.
Friday results:
Singles1 – Sergey Avdeyev (O) def. Nate Nelms (N), 7-5, 6-22 – Bradwin Williams (A) def. Johnny Waters (N), 4-6, 6-3, 6-23 – Frederico Chavarria (O) def. Jason Hill (N), 1-6, 6-1, 6-34 – Ramsey Lemaich (N) def. Taylor King (A), 6-4, 6-45 – Ryan Thomas (O) def. Alex James (N), 6-1, 6-46 – Jorge Villanueva (A) def. Jarrad Smoke (N), 6-1, 6-0Doubles1 – Thomas/Chavarria (O) def. Nelms/Waters (N), 8-22 – James/Lemaich (N) def. King/Williams (A), 8-63 – Avdeyev (O)/Villanueva (A) def. Hill/Smoke (N), 9-7
