The Alabama men’s tennis team will continue Southeastern Conference play on Friday when it travels to face the Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Crimson Tide has started off SEC play by losing two matches at the hands of the Ole Miss and Mississippi State, losing 4-3 and 4-2 respectively.
Despite ultimately falling to Mississippi State, the Tide played a competitive match that came down to the very end.
“The match against Mississippi State was very close. We were the underdogs going in but we definitely didn’t feel like we were,” sophomore Stuart Kenyon said. “We started off with a good win in doubles and got a point there but we weren’t able to pull it all together in the end. But, we all fought really hard and did well.”
Even though it is starting conference play 0-2, Alabama is looking to carry the momentum it had from the Mississippi State match into the match against Arkansas.
“Even though we lost the matches, it gave us a lot of confidence starting off the season,” Kenyon said. “Coming up with Arkansas I feel that we are going to be ready to go, ready to fight and ready to keep the same energy we have had.”
Alabama enters the match against Arkansas with a 9-5 record and is currently ranked No. 31 in the country. Arkansas comes into the match with an 11-5 record and is ranked No. 42.
Head coach George Husack said the goal for the Arkansas match is for the team to carry over the drive it displayed in the match against Mississippi State.
“The goal is to improve ourselves as a team,” Husack said. “We want to improve our position for postseason. So really the game plan is to do the same thing we have been doing.”
Husack said in the future the team will continue to play and compete like it did against Ole Miss and Mississippi State, and there won’t be any letdowns.
“Everyone can think there might be a letdown or it was easy to get up for two good teams.” Husack said. “But there are opportunities every weekend and we know that.”
Husack said a key that will help the Tide prepare for Arkansas is the way they practice leading up to the match.
“We want a hard week of practice,” Husack said. “We have set the bar and that’s exactly what we want and exactly what we’re going to do.”
Alabama is ready to face another conference opponent in the Razorbacks and is hoping to bounce back, get back in the win column and end the current two-match losing streak.
“We are excited to play another SEC match,” Kenyon said. “Hopefully we can take them down and hopefully pull out the win.”
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