Men’s tennis downs Hawaii before returning for home opener next week

HONOLULU — The Arkansas men’s tennis team (2-0) continued its strong start to the season with a 5-2 victory over Hawaii (0-4) Friday night at UH Tennis Complex.

The Razorbacks brought home the doubles point with wins on courts two and three. Arthur Bellegy and Benni Emesz cruised past Hernandez/Urano 6-0 at the No. 3 position while Connor Smillie and Jakub Vrba clinched the point for the Hogs with a 7-5 victory over Collins/Dalisay on court two. Božo Barun and Marino Jakic’s match against Hou/Visaya in the top spot went unfinished with the score tied 6-6.

Arkansas carried its momentum into singles play, winning the first set on all six courts. At the No. 5 position, Jean-Baptiste Badon coasted past Hou, 6-1, 6-1, to earn his first singles victory as a Razorback to give the squad a 2-0 lead. Brendan Boland quickly followed to also collect the first dual singles win of his collegiate career after a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Urano on court six. The Hogs clinched the match with a 7-5, 6-2 win from Barun against Collins at the No. 2 position.

The remaining matches all came down to tight, three-set finishes as Hawaii picked up its first point of the evening after Dalisay bested Jakic, 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-8), on court three. Smillie gave Arkansas a 5-1 advantage in the match with a 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-6) victory over Hernandez at the No. 4 position. The Rainbow Warriors secured their second singles win in the top spot as No. 77 Visaya came back after a first-set defeat to upend Lukas Palovic, 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 1-0 (10-7).

The Hogs return to Billingsley Tennis Center next weekend to host Incarnate Word for the home opener on Friday, Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. along with a doubleheader on Sunday, Jan. 19 against Tulsa at 12 p.m. and Oral Roberts at 5 p.m.

Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.