WAIPAHU - The Hawai'i men's tennis team fought hard but fell to nationally ranked Arkansas, 6-1, Friday afternoon, at the Central Oahu Tennis Complex. The Rainbow Warriors had its modest two-match win streak snapped in dropping to 3-10 on the year.
“In every singles match we had a chance to win the first set,” head coach John Nelson said. “They (Arkansas) are a good team and our guys are starting to compete at a higher level and realizing that they can play with teams like them.”
The Razorbacks, ranked No. 23 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, won all three doubles matches to take the early 1-0 match lead. The team of Dalibor Ptak and Ryan Sceats nearly pulled off the upset at the No. 1 court but dropped a 9-7 decision to Matt Simpson and Nathan Price.
Adrians Zguns, the eighth ranked player in the ITA, defeated Ptak, 6-4, 6-3, at the No. 1 singles court. Junior Jarrod Diepraam had set point in his match at the No. 5 court against Imraan Ismail before falling, 7-6 (7), 6-0.
The only Rainbow Warrior to win his match was freshman Jamie Migia, who pulled out a 7-6 (5), 7-5 victory over Talley Parker at No. 6 singles.
UH next travels to the mainland for four consecutive matches beginning with Claremont-McKenna, Saturday, March 20.
Match Results
Arkansas def. Hawai`i, 6-1
Singles
1. Adrians Zguns (UA) def. Dalibor Ptak, 6-4, 6-3
2. Rohan Gajjar (UA) def. Ryan Sceats, 6-4, 6-1
3. Matt Simpson (UA) def. Bryon Weinberg, 6-4, 6-2
4. Matt Roberts (UA) def. Derrick Lajola, 6-4, 6-1
5. Imraan Ismail (UA) def. Jarrod Diepraam, 7-6 (7), 6-0
6. Jamie Migia def. Talley Parker (UA), 7-6 (5), 7-5
Doubles
1. Simpson/Nathan Price (UA) def. Ptak/Sceats, 9-7
2. Ismail/Roberts (UA) def. Diepraam/Weinberg, 8-1
3. Zguns/Gajjar (UA) def. Lajola/Travis Smith, 8-2
-uh-