After a weekend tournament that featured some of the best collegiate tennis players in the country, the Arizona Wildcats left the ITA West Regional Championships in Malibu, Calif., with a lot to build on.
In the final day of action on Sunday, the tournament that started with over 64 players on Thursday was down to its final 16, and four of them were Wildcats. Sophomores Jay Goldman and Andres Carrasco and juniors Pat Metham and Andres Arango all made it to Sunday’s action.
While having a quarter of the final 16 players represent the Wildcats is impressive in and of itself, no Wildcat advanced past the round of 16.
Arango fell to the fifth overall seed, bested by Hawaii’s Dennis Lajola in two sets while Pepperdine’s Moodi Kamal defeated Metham in two sets.
The sophomores came closer to advancing as both Carrasco and Goldman forced a third and deciding set in their respective matches, though both eventually lost.
Although it can be disappointing for Arizona for none of its players to advance past the round of 16, the goal of the tournament was to gain experience against quality competition, and the Wildcats did just that.
“”There are a lot of good players in this tournament, some of the best in the country,”” head coach Tad Berkowitz said Friday. “”We are just looking to get better and get experience, and hopefully some guys can advance throughout the weekend.””