Zguns Secures All-America Honors; Advances to Round of 16

PALO ALTO, Calif. – Arkansas senior Adrians Zguns notched his second win in as many days Wednesday, guaranteeing himself All-American honors and a place in the round of 16 in the NCAA Individual Draw Championships at Stanford University’s Taube Stadium in Palo Alto, Calif.

Zguns eliminated Pepperdine’s Pedro Rico, ranked 31st, in the round of 32, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, and will face Ole Miss’ Erling Tveit at 2 p.m., Central,in Thursday’s round of 16.

“(Zguns) came out really well,” Arkansas assistant coach Darin Phelan said, “Rico was one of Pepperdine’s main guys, and they just won the national championship (Tuesday). He had a lot of momentum coming in, but (Zguns) played really well.”

Zguns, ranked 17th, becomes the first Razorback to garner All-America accolades since Oskar Johansson in 2001, and is the 16th Hog in school history to achieve the honor.

The final 16 players in the Individual Draw Championships are guaranteed All-American honors.

After splitting the first two sets, Zguns and Rico headed to the third, where Zguns used his solid return game to break Rico twice, gaining a 5-0 advantage. Zguns aced Rico twice in the final game, clinching the win.

“(Zguns) had a lot of juice left in the third set,” Phelan said, “Rico started to tire a little bit, and Adrians took advantage. Rico is one of the top guys in the country, and (Zguns) came out on top.

“We’re very proud to have another All-American, and proud to be a Hog today.”

On the season, Zguns is now 26-12, with half of his wins coming against ranked opposition. Zguns’ All-American honor adds to his First Team All-Southeastern Conference selection in April, and his nomination for the Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award.

In 2006, Zguns became just the fourth player in school history to record 100 career wins, and now stands at third on the list with 104. The Liepaja, Latvia native helped the Hogs to their highest win total (18) since 1989. Zguns led the Razorbacks to their 17th NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and reach the regional finals for the sixth time in their past seven appearances.

Fans can follow live scoring and video of Zguns’ match in the round of 16 by logging on to www.hogwired.com and clicking the live stats link.