Arkansas Men’s Tennis Coach: ‘Disbelief’ After Team Axed

He told Udwadia the health of the programs had nothing to do with the decision. “There was nothing that Tucker and I did wrong—he reiterated that to us,” Udwadia said. Udwadia rattled off several impressive stats: The men’s team had the highest GPA of anyone across divisions; he had coached three All-Americans in four years; the men’s program was on track to be a top-25 team next season. He also noted the women’s team had just missed out on an NCAA tournament bid.

At 12:30 p.m., just a half-hour before the school’s press release, the men’s and women’s programs gathered on the club level of the athletic department facilities. Yurachek spoke for a few minutes, announcing the news and telling players that they would be able to keep their scholarships.

“It was pretty sad,” Udwadia said. “A lot of players were crying—just disbelief, you know?”

Shortly after, the athletic department released a lengthy statement, complete with an FAQ section for athletes, explaining the decision and what steps players should take next. (Arkansas declined to comment for this story.)

For the men’s program, the news came at a particularly peculiar time: three days before the NCAA tournament selection show. The Razorbacks earned a spot, with a first-round match against Cornell at TCU on Friday, May 1. They had to turn their attention from the impending death of their program to the competition ahead—which would also be their last.

“The next day we had practice and you could just see the team was kind of frustrated,” Udwadia said. “I just told them, listen, you guys play for Arkansas. And you guys play for that hog on your shirt no matter what happens.” He described the rest of the practice as “great, amazing.”

On Friday, before the team squared off against Cornell, Yurachek posted words of encouragement on X for the men’s tennis program. But given the recent news, the post drew heavy criticism, with multiple comments and quote-tweets of the post called Yurachek “tone deaf.”

The Hogs lost a close match to Cornell, 4–3. “The match at TCU was unbelievable,” Udwadia said of the season-ending loss, which he described as one where players left everything on the court.

As for what’s next: The tennis transfer portal opened this week, which players can utilize if they want to keep playing in college. But at the same time, Udwadia said that the alumni base at Arkansas has rallied around the program and is working on a plan to find a way to get the program reinstated. There’s a Change.org petition with more than 4,700 signatures; Cox, the former longtime coach, is speaking out in the local press, arguing that the teams can be saved.

But while there’s movement behind the scenes, the coaches themselves are letting the alumni base handle most of the advocacy work. “Tucker and I are kind of staying out of it, and trying to focus on our teams right now and finish off the school year.”

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