Men's Tennis preview: Arkansas
AUSTIN, Texas -- No. 20 Texas (1-0) takes to the road for its second match in one week, as the Longhorns head to Fayetteville, Ark., to meet No. 45 Arkansas (4-0). The match is set for Sunday, Feb. 5 at 1 p.m. CST at the Dills Indoor Tennis Center. Texas is coming off of a season-opening 5-2 victory at Minnesota on Saturday, Jan. 28.UT claimed the doubles point and four of six singles matches on its way to its first win of 2006. Senior Roger Gubser (Laredo, Texas), ranked No. 34 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), opened the season with a straight-set win, as did 44th-ranked sophomore All-American Travis Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan.) The Longhorns await a deep and formidable Razorbacks lineup in Fayetteville. Arkansas features three student-athletes in the ITA singles rankings, including 19th-ranked freshman Blake Stroke, 24th-ranked senior Matt Roberts and 100th-ranked senior Rohan Gajjar. Senior Adrians Zguns also has spent time in the singles rankings throughout his career, including a stint in the top 20. The Razorbacks swept singles play in wins over Tulsa, Oral Roberts, Oklahoma and Wichita State and have yet to surrender a doubles point. A pair of former Southwest Conference rivals, Texas and Arkansas split the 24 previous meetings between the two schools. The Longhorns claimed a 5-2 victory a season ago in Austin, though the Razorbacks won the last match in Fayetteville two years ago by a 4-3 count. The match is the second in a four-match road swing to begin the season. UT wraps up the road stretch next weekend at Duke and Virginia before playing 12 consecutive home matches.
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