The Traveler

Arkansas coach Robert Cox's plea for help at the back of his rotation apparently did not fall on deaf ears.

Sophomore Tyler Tarnasky and junior Bradwin Williams showed strides at the critical Nos. 5 and 6 spots in the rotation last weekend as No. 47 Arkansas went 3-0 at the Razorback Invitational.

"We got a lot of help from the bottom of our lineup, which was very encouraging," Cox said. "It's one of the concerns we have if we're going to get back up into the top 25 and be a Southeastern Conference West contender. [Tarnasky and Williams] showed signs of life, and they won both of their doubles matches."

Both Tarnasky and Williams posted a 1-1 record in wins over Oregon and Pacific before Williams clinched a 7-0 win over Cowley County Community College with a solid 6-2, 6-2 victory while playing in the No. 2 singles spot for the match.

Cox said he was pleased with Tarnasky, even in a losing effort against the Ducks.

"Tyler Tarnasky did a really good job," Cox said. "He went 1-1, but he put himself in a position to win that first match against Oregon, even though he lost in three sets."

Arkansas (5-2) will need its entire roster to be in peak condition as the Hogs face a pair of talented Big 12 schools - Oklahoma and Texas.

"We play a very, very tough Oklahoma team," Cox said. "Oklahoma just upset TCU - who's a top 30 team. We had a close match with Oklahoma last year with about the same personnel. We won 4-3 at [Norman]. So they're much improved and they're going to come in here blazing."

The Razorbacks will host the Sooners 3 p.m. Friday at Dills Indoor Stadium before traveling to Austin, Texas, to face the No. 2 Longhorns Sunday in the Hogs' first outdoor match of the season.

"I think we're going to be much better prepared to play a top-five team a month after we played Virginia and opened up that season against a top-five team," Cox said.

"That'll kind of tell us where we're at, and obviously we're going to have to play a perfect match to upset the Longhorns down there."

The pair of matches came about after a set of games at Arizona and Northern Arizona fell through. Cox said the matches should give the Hogs a good tune-up before jumping into Southeastern Conference action against Alabama and Auburn.

"We're going to be really prepared when that SEC schedule [comes]," Cox said. "We've just got to be as tough, and I think we are."

After seeing several players battle the flu over the past few weeks the Hogs are finally healthy.

"We're healthy and we couldn't be in a better position right now," Cox said. "Everybody is playing well; even our lower players are starting to come on and push these guys."

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