Saturday, January 10
Harlingen, TX
11 AM
Rice University
2
vs
5
Arkansas
Owls Drop Dual Season Opener to Arkansas
1/10/2026 4:33:00 PM | Men's Tennis
HARLINGEN – The Rice men's tennis team opened the dual portion of the 2025-26 season with a 2-5 loss to Arkansas at the HEB Tennis Courts.
The day began in doubles, where Arkansas' Brendan Boland and Dmitry Koplilevich defeated Joshua Mandelbaum and Gabriel Porras 6-3. The Razorbacks secured the doubles point when No. 36 Connor Smillie and Jakub Vrba defeated Petro Kuzmenok and Santiago Navarro 7-5. Rice's Kabeer Kapasi and Yair Sarouk earned a late doubles win over No. 67 Eric Padgham and Ben Weintraub, 7-6 (4-2).
In singles, Arkansas built an early lead, with Weintraub defeating Porras 6-1, 6-1 and Boland topping Mandelbaum 6-3, 6-4. Navarro battled No. 18 Vrba but fell 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) in a tight matchup. Rice responded with strong performances as Kapasi secured the Owls' first singles win, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) over Gabriel Elicha Navas, and Noey Do followed with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory against Smillie, marking his first collegiate win in dual competition. Kuzmenok pushed Lukas Palovic to the limit in a thrilling third set but ultimately fell 7-5, 6-7 (2-7), 10-12.
The Owls will face UTRGV at 11 a.m. Sunday. Fans can follow the match on ESPN+ with live stats available on StatBroadcast.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
#36 C. Smillie/J. Vrba (ARK) def. P. Kuzmenok/S. Navarro (RICE) 7-5
K. Kapasi/Y. Sarouk (RICE) def. #67 B. Weintraub/E. Padgham (ARK) 7-6 (4-2)
D. Kopliveich/B. Boland (ARK) def. J. Mandelbaum/G. Porras (RICE) 6-3
Order of Finish: 3,1, 2
SINGLES
L. Palovic (ARK) def. #79 P. Kuzmenok (RICE) 5-7, 6-6 (7-2), (12-10)
#18 J. Vrba (ARK) def. S. Navarro (RICE) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
B. Weintraub (ARK) def. G. Porras (RICE) 6-1, 6-1
K. Kapasi (RICE) def. G. Elicha (ARK) 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)
N. Do (RICE) def. C. Smillie (ARK) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
B. Boland (ARK) def. J. Mandelbaum (RICE) 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish: 3, 6, 2, 4, 5, 1
The day began in doubles, where Arkansas' Brendan Boland and Dmitry Koplilevich defeated Joshua Mandelbaum and Gabriel Porras 6-3. The Razorbacks secured the doubles point when No. 36 Connor Smillie and Jakub Vrba defeated Petro Kuzmenok and Santiago Navarro 7-5. Rice's Kabeer Kapasi and Yair Sarouk earned a late doubles win over No. 67 Eric Padgham and Ben Weintraub, 7-6 (4-2).
In singles, Arkansas built an early lead, with Weintraub defeating Porras 6-1, 6-1 and Boland topping Mandelbaum 6-3, 6-4. Navarro battled No. 18 Vrba but fell 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) in a tight matchup. Rice responded with strong performances as Kapasi secured the Owls' first singles win, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) over Gabriel Elicha Navas, and Noey Do followed with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory against Smillie, marking his first collegiate win in dual competition. Kuzmenok pushed Lukas Palovic to the limit in a thrilling third set but ultimately fell 7-5, 6-7 (2-7), 10-12.
The Owls will face UTRGV at 11 a.m. Sunday. Fans can follow the match on ESPN+ with live stats available on StatBroadcast.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
#36 C. Smillie/J. Vrba (ARK) def. P. Kuzmenok/S. Navarro (RICE) 7-5
K. Kapasi/Y. Sarouk (RICE) def. #67 B. Weintraub/E. Padgham (ARK) 7-6 (4-2)
D. Kopliveich/B. Boland (ARK) def. J. Mandelbaum/G. Porras (RICE) 6-3
Order of Finish: 3,1, 2
SINGLES
L. Palovic (ARK) def. #79 P. Kuzmenok (RICE) 5-7, 6-6 (7-2), (12-10)
#18 J. Vrba (ARK) def. S. Navarro (RICE) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
B. Weintraub (ARK) def. G. Porras (RICE) 6-1, 6-1
K. Kapasi (RICE) def. G. Elicha (ARK) 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)
N. Do (RICE) def. C. Smillie (ARK) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
B. Boland (ARK) def. J. Mandelbaum (RICE) 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish: 3, 6, 2, 4, 5, 1
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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