TULSA, Okla. – The Arkansas men’s tennis squad got off to a 1-0 start on the season, as the Razorbacks defeated the Tulsa Hurricane Friday night 5-2.
To start things off in doubles brothers Jose Alonso/Pedro Alonso defeated Lucca Baptista/Mitchell Pritchard of Tulsa 6-1 at the No. 3 spot to give Arkansas the early advantage. Down 3-2 at the No. 2 spot, Josh Howard-Tripp/Jose Salazar fought back to defeat Tulsa’s Louis Corker/Joshua Goodger 6-4 to clinch the doubles point for the Razorbacks.
Adam Sanjurjo/Oscar Mesquida and Tulsa’s Jarod Hing/Majed Kilani were tied 4-4 at the clinch.
Ranked 113th in the Oracle/ITA rankings, Salazar defeated No. 56 Majed Kilani 6-3, 6-0 at the No. 1 spot to extend Arkansas’ lead to 2-0. Freshman Josh Howard-Tripp shortly followed to give Arkansas a 3-0 lead, defeating Louis Corker 6-2, 6-1 at court four.
Tulsa would finally get on the board as No. 82 Joshua Goodger would defeat Adam Sanjurjo 6-4, 6-4. The Razorbacks would waste no time to clinch, as junior Oscar Mesquida would finalize the result with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 win at No. 3 to give Arkansas a 4-1 lead and the win.
Following the clinch, freshman Pedro Alonso would fall to Lucca Baptista 6-7, 3-6, while his younger brother Jose would knock off Mitchell Pritchard 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.
Arkansas will travel to Norman, Oklahoma, for their next match on Sunday against the No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners at 1 p.m.
Arkansas 5, Tulsa 2
Singles competition – Order of finish (1,4,2,3,5,6)
1. No. 113 Jose Salazar (AR) def. No. 56 Majed Kilani (TU) 6-3, 6-0
2. No. 82 Joshua Goodger (TU) def. Adam Sanjurjo (AR) 6-4, 6-4
3. Oscar Mesquida (AR) def. Jarod Hing (TU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-0
4. Josh Howard-Tripp (AR) def. Louis Corker (TU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Lucca Baptista (TU) def. Pedro Alonso (AR) 6-7, 3-6
6. Jose Alonso (AR) def. Mitchell Pritchard (TU) 6-1, 2-6, 6-4
Doubles competition – Order of finish (3,2)
1. Adam Sanjurjo/Oscar Mesquida (AR) vs. Jarod Hing/Majed Kilani (TU) 4-4, unfinished
2. Josh Howard-Tripp/Jose Salazar (AR) def. Louis Corker/Joshua Goodger (TU) 6-4
3. Jose Alonso/Pedro Alonso (AR) def. Lucca Baptista/Mitchell Pritchard (TU) 6-1
For more information on Razorback men’s tennis, please follow @RazorbackMTEN on Twitter.