Arkansas defensive lineman Jamario Bell likes his new role, John Chavis’ approach on defense.
Hogs get seventh seed; play Butler Friday in Detroit
Winning eight of their last 11 games, the Razorbacks (23-11) will open play on Friday against the No. 10 Butler Bulldogs (20-13) of the Big East Conference in the round of 64 in Detroit, Michigan. The winner advances to play No. 2 Purdue or No. 15 Cal State Fullerton.
The Razorbacks are a No. 7 seed for the second time in program history, holding an overall record of 0-1.
Coach Mike Anderson is making his ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in his 16th year as a head coach. He has a 9-8 record in the Big Dance, having advanced as far as the Elite Eight in 2008-09 during his days at Missouri.
Arkansas is making its 32nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its third appearance in a four-year span for the first time in 10 years.
The Razorbacks have won their opening game of the tournament in both years under Anderson, knocking off Wofford in 2015 and Seton Hall in 2017.
Arkansas is 42-31 all-time in its previous 31 appearances, including a 20-11 mark in its first game in the tournament.
Van Horn on comeback win over Kent State on Sunday
After Arkansas’ 11-4 win over Kent State to take the weekend series, Coach Dave Van Horn talked about the late explosion Sunday and the upcoming midweek games with Texas.
Arkansas comes up just short against No. 4 Commodores
FAYETTEVILLE — Despite Arkansas winning the doubles point and picking up wins over ranked opponents at the top two singles spots, No. 4 Vanderbilt edged the Razorbacks, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon at the George M. Billingsley Tennis Center.
“No question we showed today we can play with anyone in the nation,” head coach Michael Hegarty said. “Full credit to Vanderbilt who came up big in the clutch.”
The Razorbacks’ (5-7, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) No. 30 ranked pair of junior Ana Oparenovic and freshman Tatum Rice improved to 10-1 this spring with a 6-2 victory at the top doubles spot.
Sophomore Giulia Pairone and senior Mia Jurasic secured the opening point by beating Vanderbilt’s (11-2, 4-0 SEC) Fernanda Contreras and Summer Dvorak 6-3.
The Commodores leveled the match with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 6 singles.
Arkansas reclaimed the lead when No. 87 Oparenovic picked up a 6-1, 6-2 win over No. 27 Christina Rosca.
Vanderbilt followed up with consecutive wins at No. 4 and 5 to go up 3-2.
No. 66 Pairone tied the contest when she downed No. 5 Contreras 6-3, 7-6 (4) for the highest-ranked win of her career. With the win, Pairone improved to 9-0 this spring.
The Commodores clinched the overall team victory with a win at the No. 3 spot.
Up Next
Arkansas will hit the road next week and play Thursday at LSU (4 p.m. CT) and Saturday at Texas A&M (noon CT).
McFarland, Lee, Martin after Kent State win
Razorback players Jordan McFarland, Evan Lee and Casey Martin talked about the win over the Golden Flashes when the Hogs scored nine straight runs over the final three innings after falling behind 4-2.
Arkansas drops road match at No. 17 Vanderbilt
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Arkansas wraps up its two-match road weekend in Nashville on Sunday, falling on the road to No. 17 Vanderbilt, 6-1.
The Razorbacks drop to 8-7 overall this season and 1-3 in Southeastern Conference action.
Arkansas dropped the doubles point with losses on courts one and three. Vanderbilt’s Daniel Valent and Baker Newman defeated Alex Reco and Pedro Alonso 6-3 to give the Commodores the advantage, before No. 57 Billy Rowe and Cameron Klinger knocked off Josh Howard-Tripp and Jose Salazar 6-4 at the top doubles spot to clinch the point. Oscar Mesquida and Adam Sanjurjo were leading No. 75 Panu Virtanen and Lachlan McPhee 5-4 at the clinch.
In singles, Vanderbilt extended its lead quickly. No. 57 Klinger defeated Howard-Tripp 6-1, 6-1 to take a 2-0 lead, as Rowe won over Reco 6-2, 6-2 to extend it to 3-0. P. Alonso would fall 6-0, 7-6 to Maxwell Freeman to give the Commodores the 4-0 advantage and the win. Mesquida was the first Razorback to win a set over a Commodore, as the junior won the second set 6-4, after falling 6-0 in the first set. Mesquida would fall to Newman in the third-set tiebreaker 10-5 to give Vanderbilt the 5-0 lead.
No. 84 Salazar was the second Razorback to pick up a set victory, taking the second set against No. 79 Valent 6-4, after dropping the first 7-5. Like his teammate Newman, Valent would take the third-set tiebreaker 10-6.
Despite trailing 6-0 in the match, Jose Alonso showed some fight on court six, as the freshman won the first set over George Harwell 7-5, before harwell took the second set 7-5. Alonso would take the court though, winning 10-4 in the third-set tiebreaker.
The Razorbacks return home next Friday to host No. 22 Tennessee, then No. 21 Georgia on Sunday.
No. 17 Vanderbilt 6, Arkansas 1
Singles Results – Order of finish (2,4,5,3,1,6)
1. #79 Daniel Valent (VU) def. #84 Jose Salazar (AR) 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6)
2. #57 Cameron Klinger (VU) def. Josh Howard-Tripp (AR) 6-1, 6-1
3. Baker Newman (VU) def. Oscar Mesquida (AR) 6-0, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5)
4. Billy Rowe (VU) def. Alex Reco (AR) 6-2, 6-2
5. Maxwell Freeman (VU) def. Pedro Alonso (AR) 6-0, 7-6 (7-3)
6. Jose Alonso (AR) def. George Harwell (VU) 7-5, 5-7, 1-0 (10-4)
Doubles Results – Order of finish (3,1)
1. #57 Billy Rowe/Cameron Klinger (VU) def. Josh Howard-Tripp/Jose Salazar (AR) 6-4
2. #75 Panu Virtanen/Lachlan McPhee (VU) vs. Oscar Mesquida/Adam Sanjurjo (AR) 4-5, unfinished
3. Daniel Valent/Baker Newman (VU) def. Alex Reco/Pedro Alonso (AR) 6-3
Razorbacks travel to Southern Intercollegiate in Georgia
FAYETTEVILLE — No. 18 Arkansas returns to action on Monday, traveling to the Southern Intercollegiate at Athens Country Club in Athens, Georgia.
The one day 36-hole event, hosted by the University of Georgia, is the largest regular season tournament Arkansas will play in this season. The Razorbacks are the highest ranked team in the field at No. 18, followed by No. 19 Florida State.
Head coach Brad McMakin’s squad is making its third consecutive appearance at Athens Country Club, recording a runner-up finish in 2016 and finishing fourth in 2017 for a combined head-to-head record of 23-4 at the event.
The Razorbacks will tee it up for the fourth time during the spring season, as they go for their sixth top five finish of the year.
Arkansas faced the toughest field in college golf last week at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate, finishing ahead of five top-25 teams and knocking two of the top five programs in the nation.
Coming off his best performance of the year in Cabo, senior Alvaro Ortiz returns to the No. 1 spot in the lineup.
He finished T-3rd at the Southern Intercollegiate a year ago at 5-under. Luis Garza has fond memories of Athens as well, posting a top 10 finish last year with back-to-back rounds under par.
Live scoring will be available at Golfstat.com or via the Golfstat Live app.
The Rundown
Schedule: March 12 | 36 holes on Monday
Course: Athens Country Club | Athens, Ga.
Yardage: 6,917 – Par 72
Format: Play 5, count 4
Razorback Lineup
1. Alvaro Ortiz, Sr. (69.8)
2. Mason Overstreet, So. (70.0)
3. Luis Garza, So. (72.0)
4. William Buhl, So. (71.7)
5. Tyson Reeder, R-So. (74.1)
IND. Landon Ernst, Fr. (74.0)
The Field
No. 18 Arkansas
Charleston Southern
Chattanooga
No. 19 Florida State
Francis Marion
Gardner Webb
Georgia
High Point
Iowa
Kennesaw State
Lipscomb
Nicholls State
Savannah State
Stetson
USC Upstate
Western Carolina
Wofford
Youngstown State
