Razorbacks hit road to take on Sooners

Norman, Okla.— Norman, Okla.— The No. 51 University of Arkansas men’s tennis team will travel to take on the No. 44 Oklahoma Sooners this Friday, at 3 p.m. to be held at the newly renovated Greg Wadley Indoor Tennis Pavilion, in Norman, Okla. The Hogs boast an overall record of 4-3, dropping only one doubles point all season to the No. 8 Texas Longhorns.

Arkansas is on a four-match winning streak and now will take on the Big 12s’ No. 44 Oklahoma. Last time the teams met the Hogs edged a 4-3 win over the Sooners in Fayetteville. Since 1985, the Hogs have led the series 4-3.

“This past weekend we played a lot of solid tennis,” head coach Robert Cox said. “We had a great weekend and continue to build and improve. The top of the lineup is playing well, Chris Nott is holding his own at No. 1.”

The Razorbacks are paced by top returning player, No. 81 Christopher Nott, who claimed victory over No. 49 Tucker Vorster of Ole Miss in straight sets. Nott boasts a 10-2 overall record in both singles and doubles. Senior Dmitry Lebedev continues to find success, moving up to the No. 2 position in the singles lineup. Lebedev is coming off a solid weekend performance going undefeated and winning four of the six matches in the spring.

Together, Nott and Lebedev been unstoppable on the courts, helping the Hogs win six out of the seven doubles points. Arkansas’ doubles success also features the dynamic duo of Matthew Hogan and Matt Walters, with five wins.

“Doubles continue to be successful,” Cox said. “Very encouraging and we have an opportunity to win a lot of doubles this year.”

Leading the Sooners in the ITA rankings is No. 10 Andrei Daescu followed by No. 59 Ionut Beleleu and No. 69 Costin Paval. Oklahoma will have their first home game under their new head coach John Roddick against the Razorbacks.

“We are ready to travel and take our game against a very good OU team,” Cox said. “They are a deep team and it will be a good test on the road for us and we are ready for it.”

Live stats are available at :http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-tennis/livescoring.html.