Section B·Page 4
The University Daily Kansan
Monday, February 2.1998
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Men's tennis team falls to Arkansas
'Hawks lose match following disputed call in season opener
By Erin Thompson Kansan sportswriter
After a disappointing loss Saturday night, members of the Kansas men's tennis team said their first-match jitters were out of the way, and they were ready to start improving.
The No. 24 Jayhawks lost 4-3 to Arkansas in the third set of the final match at Alvamar Tennis Club in Lawrence. Kansas lost the final match on a controversial call in a tiebreaker.
"At times we played well, at times we didn't play as well. It's the first match of the season," senior Enrique Abaroa said. "Until you start going, you cannot expect to play a really good solid match. We had a lot of chances but we didn't execute at times."
The match was tied at three and only the No. 5 singles match remained when the call was made. After dropping the first set to Arkansas' Darin Phelan, junior Kenny Powell fought back to win the second set 6-3.
Despite Powell's enthusiasm—he turned two cart-wheels and started cheers in the crowd—the third set went into a tiebreaker. Powell jumped out to a 3-1 lead but Phelan fought back. Powell had taken the lead 8-7 when Phelan called a ball out that Phelan thought was in. Phelan on to win on the tie-breaker 10-8.
"I thought it could have gone our way, but it's the same as a referee's call," coach Mark Riley said. "We shouldn't have been in that position for the match to be down to one ball."
The Jayhawks fell behind early, dropping two of three doubles matches. Baraoa and Xavier Avila, ranked 10th in the nation as a doubles team in the Rolex collegiate tennis rankings, had a chance to move up in the polls by defeating the third-ranked Arkansas doubles team of Tim Crichton and Tom Hamilton, but they did not capitalize.
"We weren't as aggressive as you have to be." Abaroa said. "When you're not as sharp you have to be a little bit more aggressive."
Abaroa came back to defeat Hamilton 7-6, (7-4), 6-4 in singles play.
"I was confident I was going to beat him," he said. "And I needed to get him back for beating me in doubles."
Despite the loss, Kansas plans to improve as the season goes on, Riley said.
"It's only one match. We have many, many matches to go," he said. "I certainly don't like losing this one, but we have many tough opponents left to play and we're going to get better."
Senior Enrique Abaroa hits the ball during the Jayhawks' tennis match against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Abaroa won his match in two sets, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, Saturday night at Alvamar Tennis Club. Photo by Augustus Anthony Piazza/KANSAN
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