Men's Tennis Dominates Arkansas in Norman

²² Oklahoma

Arkansas

NORMAN — The No. 22 Oklahoma men's tennis team defeated Arkansas, who received votes in the latest ITA poll, 5-2 at the Headington Family Tennis Center on Sunday.

The Sooners (8-1) picked up the doubles point and four singles victories, including two ranked wins, to extend their undefeated record at home.

"Today was big," head coach Nick Crowell said. "We've had many battles with Arkansas. They are a great team who had a great fall, so our guys did a great job preparing all week for that match. They came out and executed, and that is what we wanted them to do."

OU started the day strong, taking the doubles point after wins on courts one and three. Alex Martinez and Welsh Hotard wrapped up play first with a 6-3 win against Alex Reco and Nico Rousset at the top line. On court two, Mark Mandlik and Baptiste Anselmo battled, but ultimately fell to No. 36 Adrien Burdet and Melvin Manuel, 6-4. Action came down to court three with Mason Beiler and Nathan Han clinching the point in a 6-4 fashion against Arkansas' Hunter Harrison and Jacob Sweeney.

"I think Welsh and Alex did a great job coming back from some adversity, down 3-1 at No. 1 doubles, and being first off of doubles is always huge," Crowell said.

No. 54 Jordan Hasson struck first on the singles side of competition, notching a 6-2, 6-3 win over Oscar Pinto Sansano on court five. Arkansas got on the board after Manuel took court six 6-2, 6-3 against Justin Schlageter.

Martinez picked up a big win over No. 25 Bucan on court two. Martinez's 6-3, 6-2 win over Bucan marked his second ranked win on the season.

"Alex [Martinez] really dominated with his forehand and was playing really heavy, disciplined tennis," Crowell said. "It was one of the more disciplined matches I've seen him play. He played really smart and used his head. I was proud of the way he closed that match off with two sets, because Bucan is a great player and we knew that was going to be tough."

No. 49 Mandlik clinched the match for OU with a 6-4, 6-4 victory on court four against Burdet.

The remaining courts played out with Beiler and Anselmo taking their matches to a third set 10-point tiebreaker. No. 31 Beiler claimed the top court 7-5, 1-6, 1-0 [11-9] against No. 102 Alex Reco. Anselmo dropped his match 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 [11-9] against Rousset on court three.

UP NEXT

The Sooners will host Alabama and Drake at the Headington Family Tennis Center, Feb. 11 and 13, respectively. Friday's matchup against Alabama is slated for 6 p.m., while Sunday's action versus Drake is set for 1 p.m. CT. Matches are open to the public and admissions is free. Free pizza will be available for the first 50 fans at both matches.

RESULTS

No. 22 Oklahoma 5, Arkansas 2

Singles competition
1. #31 Mason Beiler (OU) def. #102 Alex Reco (ARK) 7-5, 1-6, 1-0 (11-9)
2. Alex Martinez (OU) def. #25 Aleksa Bucan (ARK) 6-3, 6-2
3. Nico Rousset (ARK) def. Baptiste Anselmo (OU) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (11-9)
4. #49 Mark Mandlik (OU) def. Adrien Burdet (ARK) 6-4, 6-4
5. #54 Jordan Hasson (OU) def. Oscar Pinto Sansano (ARK) 6-2, 6-3
6. Melvin Manuel (ARK) def. Justin Schlageter (OU) 6-2, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Welsh Hotard/Alex Martinez (OU) def. Alex Reco/Nico Rousset (ARK) 6-3
2. #36 Adrien Burdet/Melvin Manuel (ARK) def. Baptiste Anselmo/Mark Mandlik (OU) 6-4
3. Nathan Han/Mason Beiler (OU) def. Hunter Harrison/Jacob Sweeney (ARK) 6-4

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,6,2,4,1,3)