LITTLE ROCK — Cox gets look at top Hogs
Arkansas' tennis team gets a taste of life after Blake Strode this weekend at the Baylor Invitational, which beginsFriday in Waco, Texas.
Chris Nott and Matt Hogan will play in the tournament.
Razorbacks Coach Robert Cox said he expects Nottand Hogan to play the top two spots this year, and the Baylor tournament will be a good judge of where the two juniors stand.
Nott and Hogan played mostly No. 2 and No. 3 a year ago. Cox said he hopesNott, ranked No. 94, and the unranked Hogan can reach the top 50 in the rankings before the end of the fall season.
"It's a very tough tournament, a nationally known tournament," Cox said. "We're starting off with a bang. We'll see exactly where they're at for the fall.
"It's going to be a tough road to hoe at the top of our lineup. Chris and Matt know what's in front of them, the challenge of playing up high."
Cox isn't too worried about the top of his rotation even with the graduation of Strode, who won more than 80 singles tournaments and was ranked in the Top 20during his senior year.
Cox said the Razorbacks struggled with their fifth and sixth singles players a year ago.
"We have some experience," Cox said. "We really needed to shore up the holes at five and sixlast year, where we were woeful. You can't win consistently or you can't really win at all with that kind of lack of production down low." VOLLEYBALL Solid SEC start
Coach Robert Pulliza said he was heartened with his team's 1-1 record in SEC play this past weekend.
The Razorbacks defeated South Carolina 3-0 before losing in three games to No.
5 Florida. The Razorbacks lost the third game to Florida 26-24.
"We feel good about what we did and where we're going," Pulliza said.
Arkansas (7-6, 1-1 SEC) travels this weekend to play Tennessee on Friday and Kentucky on Sunday. Pulliza said Tennessee is a physical team, but Arkansas learned this past weekend it could play with physical teams.
"We have the physicality to go head to head with just about anybody in the country," Pulliza said. "They finally saw themselves playing at the highest level and it was like, 'Hey, we can do this.'
"It was a good step forward." WOMEN'S GOLF Raring to go
Coach Shauna Estes-Taylor is looking forward to a trip to Manhattan, Kan.
Estes-Taylor said she was disappointed with her team's play in a tournament in Albuquerque, N.M., this past weekend. The Razorbacks finished 13th in the 18-team field, and junior Kelli Shean was the only individual player in the top 20.
The Razorbacks will play in the Marilyn Smith Sunflower Invitational, which begins Monday at Colbert Hills Golf Course.
"We can't get to Kansas fast enough, to be quitehonest," Estes-Taylor said. "I don't really [know how] to pinpoint what the problem was. I think we were competition rusty. We just didn't execute some of the simple things we worked on."
Estes-Taylor said she was confident in her team.
Katy Nugent was added to the travel team for Kansas State, while Corinna Rees will play as an unattached golfer.
"I think this group is ready to get back out and show everybody what we're made of," Estes-Taylor said.
Sports, Pages 19 on 09/24/2009