FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas men’s tennis team picked up a 4-3 victory Friday night, holding off the No. 24 Kentucky Wildcats in a nail biter.
It was the Razorbacks’ (14-11, 5-6 SEC) first win over a top-25 team since defeating the No. 19 Texas Longhorns a season ago.
No. 7 Mike Redlicki and Jose Salazar took court one 6-3 to start off doubles play, improving to 10-4 overall with a 6-3 mark in SEC play this spring. Kentucky (14-6, 5-6 SEC) would claim court three to send the doubles point decision to the No. 2 spot.
Down 5-2, Adam Sanjurjo and Johan den Toom roared back to tie it 5-5. The duo pushed the match to a tiebreaker, holding serve and winning a no-ad point after trailing 6-5. The pair went on to defeat Kentucky’s William Bushamuka and Nils Ellefsen 7-4 to clinch the doubles point for the Razorbacks.
The Wildcats evened things up as No. 19 Bushamuka defeated No. 11 Redlicki 7-5, 6-2 at the No. 1 spot. Johan den Toom extended his winning streak of five straight decisions, defeating Trey Yates 6-3, 7-5 to put the Razorbacks back ahead.
Oscar Mesquida knocked off Nils Ellefsen 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 at No. 3 to push Arkansas’ lead to 3-1. Kentucky proceeded to take courts four and six, evening things up 3-3 and bringing the match down to the No. 2 spot.
Salazar won the first set on court two 7-6 (7-4) before falling 6-4 in the second set. In the third set, he cruised to a 6-2 victory, giving the Razorbacks the 4-3 victory.
The Razorbacks will close out the weekend and the 2017 regular season on Sunday when Arkansas hosts the Vanderbilt Commodores at 1 p.m. for Senior Day.
Arkansas 4, No. 24 Kentucky 3
Doubles competition - Order of finish (1,3,2)
1. #7 Mike Redlicki/Jose Salazar (AR) def. #32 Beck Pennington/Enzo Wallart (UK) 6-3
2. Adam Sanjurjo/Johan den Toom (AR) def. Will Bushamuka/Nils Ellefsen (UK) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Gus Benson/Trey Yates (UK) def. Oscar Mesquida/Juan Marino (AR) 7-5
Singles competition - Order of finish (1,5,3,4,6,2)
1. #19 Will Bushamuka (UK) def. #11 Mike Redlicki (AR) 7-5, 6-2
2. #29 Jose Salazar (AR) def. #49 Beck Pennington (UK) 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-2
3. Oscar Mesquida (AR) def. Nils Ellefsen (UK) 6-2, 3-6, 6-0
4. Enzo Wallart (UK) def. Adam Sanjurjo (AR) 6-4, 6-4
5. Johan den Toom (AR) def. Trey Yates (UK) 6-3, 7-5
6. Alex Dominguez (UK) def. Juan Marino (AR) 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
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