Fayetteville, Ark. – Filip Planinsek’s 12^th consecutive singles victory highlighted a 4-3 loss for the No. 21 Alabama men’s tennis team (10-5, 2-4 SEC) against Arkansas (13-5, 2-2 SEC) on Saturday.

Planinsek remained undefeated in singles action as all 12 of his dual match wins have come at the No. 1 spot for the Tide. Additionally, Damien Nezar and Andrii Zimnokh secured their sixth straight win in doubles to remain undefeated in conference play.

“Two nail biters that took more of the nail off than we preferred. Nice to have Enzo (Aguiard) back in singles after a long layoff and Roan (Jones) stepped in for a quality start with Zach (Foster) in doubles. Andrii (Zimnokh) and Damien (Nezar) are simply solid, and nice for Andrii to come out on the winning end in another three-set battle. Unlucky for Mati (Ponce De Leon) to be sidelined this weekend but that was out of our control.

“Bottom line is we have the tools. We’re executing in doubles and Filip (Plainisek) is leading by example in the top spot. We’re getting consistent efforts from some but it needs to be across the board. We’re all responsible for that, both coaches and players. No time to panic but rather back to problem solving, being willing and diligent with our practice and ultimately executing at a rate that we’re capable of from start to finish.”

Match Notes

• Despite the Razorbacks securing the first win of the day, the Crimson Tide rallied to take courts three and two, respectively, for a 1-0 start in the match
• Planinsek’s straight set 6-3, 6-4 victory over Bozo Barun moved UA out to a 2-0 lead but a trio of Arkansas wins on courts six, three and two, respectively, shifted momentum   
• Andrii Zimnokh evened the overall score at 3-3 with a three-set victory against Marino Jakic, securing the win off a third-set tiebreaker
• Zimnokh recorded a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(2) decision but a three-set battle that featured two tiebreakers on court five clinched the win for Arkansas

Next 

• Alabama continues its road stint traveling to Texas A&M on March 14
• The Friday night match is set for a 6 p.m. CT start

Results 

Doubles

1. Connor Smillie/Jakub Vrba (ARKM) def. #42 Matic Kriznik/Filip Planinsek (BAMA) 6-3
2. Damien Nezar/Andrii Zimnokh (BAMA) def. Bozo Barun/Benni Emesz (ARKM) 7-5
3. Zach Foster/Roan Jones (BAMA) def. Brendan Boland/Marino Jakic (ARKM) 6-4

Order of Finish: 1,3,2

Singles

1. #17 Filip Planinsek (BAMA) def. Bozo Barun (ARKM) 6-3, 6-4
2. #82 Lukas Palovic (ARKM) def. #75 Roan Jones (BAMA) 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-3
3. #124 Jakub Vrba (ARKM) def. Enzo Aguiard (BAMA) 7-6 (12-10), 6-2
4. Andrii Zimnokh (BAMA) def. Marino Jakic (ARKM) 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2)
5. Benni Emesz (ARKM) def. Matic Kriznik (BAMA) 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (0-7), 6-4
6. Arthur Bellegy (ARKM) def. Zach Foster (BAMA) 6-1, 7-6 (9-7)

Order of Finish 1,6,3,2,4,5