Alabama
Arkansas
Alabama Downs Arkansas in Exciting 4-3 Victory, Sweeps Alcorn State 4-0
3/1/2026 7:59:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Crimson Tide captured a come-from-behind win over Arkansas to notch the team’s first conference victory of the season
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's tennis team (7-7, 1-2 SEC) captured a thrilling come-from-behind, 4-3 victory over Arkansas (10-5, 0-3 SEC) Sunday to notch the Tide's first Southeastern Conference win of the season. Additionally, Alabama defeated Alcorn State (3-11) 4-0 to sweep the day.
Alabama trailed early in the match against the Razorbacks after dropping both the doubles and first singles point. The Tide would pull ahead in singles before a 3-3 score forced the deciding point to come on court three. After falling in the first set 6-2, Matic Kriznik fought back, dropping a combined four games in the next two rounds for a 6-3, 6-1 decision and the overall victory for the Tide.
From Head Coach George Husack
"First of all, I'd like to thank the Crimson Racket Club for hosting another great cookout for our fans. And thanks to the Christ Episcopal Church community and rector Paul Pradat for cheering us on today.
"Regarding the matches, it starts with attitude. That began earlier this week after facing a couple of tough SEC teams in Texas and LSU. It continued on Friday with a challenging doubleheader, a smart recovery day Saturday and then back at it again today. Doubles was disappointing but not deflating. Vit (Kalina) had the doubles point on his racket but it didn't matter as he responded with such conviction in singles to give us a boost. Yoshka (Sborowsky) has been quite the spark plug for us and he had great resolve on court six. Carlos (Gimenez Perez) and Matic began slowly but stepped up and sealed the deal. Just a year ago Matic learned about clinching matches as he was on court in the decider as Arkansas beat us in Fayetteville. He's committed himself to improving since then and I was very proud of his strong finish as I'm sure his parents were watching the live stream back in Slovenia. And then to come back out rather quickly against Alcorn State and remain focused all the way through was a sweet ending to a busy weekend. Same plan this week - rest, recover, repeat."
Match Notes
- In addition to Kriznik's match-clinching win, three Alabama players recorded victories against Arkansas
- Vit Kalina, Yoshka Sborowsky and Carlos Gimenez Perez all posted consecutive two-set wins to shift momentum to Alabama
- Although Arkansas would tie the match at 3-3, Kriznik's 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory secured UA its first conference win of the season
- Sborowsky would tally a second win to help pace the Tide during the day, winning in straight sets against Alcorn State
- Brendan Loh recorded a perfect 6-0, 6-0 performance against the Braves as Andrii Zimnokh clinched the match
Next
- Alabama will travel to Athens, Ga., for its first SEC road match, facing Georgia on March 6
- The match between the Tide and Bulldogs is set to begin at 4:30 p.m. CT
Arkansas Results
Doubles
1. Eric Padgham/Ben Weintraub (ARK) def. Vit Kalina/Andrii Zimnokh (UA) 7-5
2. #66 Connor Smille/Jakub Vrba (ARK) def. Jacob Olar/Matic Kriznik (UA) 6-3
3. Rohan Hazratwala/Brendan Loh (UA) def. Brendan Boland/Dmitry Kopilevich (ARK) 6-2
Singles
1. #18 Jakub Vrba (ARK) def. Andrii Zimnokh (UA) 7-6 (6), 6-2
2. Vit Kalina (UA) def. Lukas Palovic (ARK) 6-2, 6-2
3. #90 Matic Kriznik (UA) def. Ben Weintraub (ARK) 2-6, 6-3, 6-1
4. Gabriel Elicha Navas (ARK) def. Jacob Olar (UA) 6-1, 6-1
5. Carlos Gimenez Perez (UA) def. Arsene Pougault (ARK) 6-3, 6-3
6. Yoshka Sborowsky (UA) def. Dmitry Kopilevich (ARK) 7-5, 6-2
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (4,2,6,5,1,3)
Alcorn State Results
Doubles
1. Matic Kriznik/Jacob Olar (UA) def. Matthew Holl/Vicent L. Buigues (ALCM) 6-2
2. Rohan Hazratwala/Brendan Loh (UA) def. Sebastian Griffiths/Fabian Juarez (ALCM) 6-2
3. Vit Kalina/Yoshka Sborowsky (UA) vs. Jorge P. Navarrete/Tomas Grime (ALCM) 5-3, unfinished
Singles
1. Andrii Zimnokh (UA) def. Sebastian Griffiths (ALCM) 6-3, 6-1
2. Jacob Olar (UA) vs. Vicent L. Buigues (ALCM) 6-2, 3-0, unfinished
3. Carlos Gimenez Perez (UA) vs. Matthew Holl (ALCM) 7-5, unfinished
4. Yoshka Sborowsky (UA) def. Tomas Grime (ALCM) 6-1, 6-1
5. Rohan Hazratwala (UA) vs. Jorge P. Navarrete (ALCM) 6-2, 3-0, unfinished
6. Brendan Loh (UA) def. Jeremiah Jones (ALCM) 6-0, 6-0
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (6,4,1)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
4,2,6,5,1,3
Players Mentioned
