Walters completes summer season

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University of Arkansas Razorback Matt Walters has grinded the baseline this summer competing in four tournaments. Walters wrapped his summer season by advancing to the third round of the 2009 ITA National Summer Championships, in Bloomington, Ind.Walters opened the summer-circuit event with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Taylor Tunis of IUPUI. In the second round, he beat Eastern Illinois’ Jeffrey Rutherford in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. Walters eventually fell to ninth-seeded Dan Stahl of Notre Dame, 6-4, 6-2.

"Matt has worked hard this summer promoting himself and taking his tennis game to a higher level," head Coach Robert Cox said. "He battled and did a lot of good on the court."

Walters captured his first collegiate title in July at an ITA summer circuit tournament in Norman, Okla. The Razorback sophomore defeated James Seagraves, 6-4, 6-3, in the championship match on the campus of the University of Oklahoma.

"Walters has had a very rewarding summer with a lot of tournament play, which is what he needed to do," Cox said. "The dividends of his summer experience will pay off for his sophomore year."

He also competed in summer-circuit events hosted by Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Kansas. Walters advanced to the quarterfinal round of his first event of the summer before earning a semifinal berth in the Lawrence, Kan., event.

The Razorback men’s tennis team will open its fall season at the Baylor Intercollegiate Invitational. The event will be played Sept. 25-27 in Waco, Texas. For more information about Arkansas men’s tennis, log on to ArkansasRazorbacks.com.