By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In an abbreviated affair that saw three singles clashes conclude before their ending, the Tennessee Tech tennis team was upended by No. 47 Arkansas 4-0 in a neutral-site meeting in Knoxville to seal the deal on another week of non-conference action.
In their fourth matchup against an SEC school, and fourth contest against a ranked opponent, the Golden Eagles (0-6) fell behind early after dropping the doubles point, despite securing a victory in the top tandem tangle. The TTU duo of Murilo Burckhardt and Paulo Ramos Martin took down Benedikt Emesz and Jared Horwood 6-4, but the Razorbacks (12-4) claimed victorious decisions in the No. 2 and No. 3 bouts to jump out to the tilt's early edge.
Connor Smillie and Jake Sweeney notched a 6-4 triumph over Lucas Bitzer and Davids Spaks in the No. 2 spot, while Alan Sau Franco and Stefanos Savva defeated Alex Alvarez and Darek Kuczynski 6-3 in the No. 3 get-together.
Arkansas would go on to pick up wins in all three completed solo showdowns, including nods in each of the bottom two spots in the lineup. Smillie collected a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Kuczynski in the No. 5 meeting, while Horwood earned a 6-2, 6-2 nod against Lukas Krause in the No. 6 position.
The Razorbacks rounded out their trio of triumphs with a Savva 6-4, 6-3 victory over Alvarez in the top tussle.
Davids Spaks was the lone Golden Eagle to take a set during singles play after topping Jake Sweeney 7-5 in the first set before the No. 4 tilt was called early in the second. Murilo Burckhardt dropped the first set 6-3 and trailed 4-3 in the second set against Benedikt Emesz at the time the No. 2 battle was called, and Paulo Ramos Martin was upended 6-2 in the first set and was behind 5-2 in the second against Karlo Kajin in the No. 3 position before it was called.
After TTU's Saturday home match against Texas Tech was cancelled due to wet court conditions brought by inclement weather, the Golden Eagles will have another go at their second home match of the year on Friday, Mar. 8, as the purple and gold will welcome Youngstown State to Cookeville. First serve is slated for noon CT and admission to Tech Tennis Courts is free of charge.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
