University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
Arkansas
Tigers face Arkansas to open ITA Kickoff Weekend
Jan 27, 2018 | Men's Tennis
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis' men's tennis team seeks to continue its early season success as the Tigers travel to Athens, Ga., to take part in the ITA Kickoff Weekend.
Memphis (1-0) will open play Sunday against Arkansas with first serve set for 8 a.m. (CT). The four-team field also includes Iowa and host No. 4 Georgia.
"It's a very strong regional. Arkansas is an experienced team and they have a great coach. It'll be an exciting opening match," head coach Paul Goebel said. "We played in Athens a couple years ago and played well, so we're really excited to go there. It should be a good test to see exactly where we are early in the season."
The Tigers opened the 2018 spring slate with a 5-2 victory against Indiana last weekend. Senior Ryan Peniston clinched the match for the Tigers, downing No. 125 Raheel Manji in straight sets. Senior Andrew Watson, junior Chris Patzanovsky and sophomore Jan Pallares also turned in singles wins against the Hoosiers.
The Tigers also feature the No. 58 doubles tandem in the country in Felix Rauch and teammate Pallares.
The Razorbacks (1-2) are led by senior Jose Salazar, who finished the fall ranked No. 113 in singles play. Arkansas claimed a 5-2 win against Tulsa to open the season, before falling in consecutive matches against No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 15 Oklahoma State.
Arkansas leads the all-time series with a 2-1 record, but Memphis claimed the last meeting with 5-2 win in Fayetteville in 2000.
Fans can follow live scoring of this weekend's matches by visiting http://bit.ly/2ruf5AT.
Players Mentioned
