The Arizona men’s tennis team travels to Tempe tomorrow to battle its rival, No. 21 ASU, at noon at the Whiteman Tennis Center.
The Wildcats’ last encounter with the Sun Devils (14-4, 2-4 Pacific 10 Conference) was hotly contested, but they lost 4-3. The players want to redeem themselves, but the circumstances won’t be as favorable this time around.
Arizona (11-10, 1-5) will play with the pressure to win its last match before the Pac-10 Championships. In addition to this drawback, the Wildcats will perform in front of the Sun Devils’ vicious home crowd.
“”It should be motivation for us. When they came down here, our crowd was in our favor, so we expect that from them,”” said UA senior Bruno Alcala. “”I’ve played against teams whose crowds have been cursing at me and it’s fun. When I have people telling me that I suck, it makes me want to prove to them that I’m mentally tougher than they think.””
Toughness plays a large role in the game, but in the long run, whichever team has a more complete overall package will dominate this “”Duel in the Desert.””
“”They have a great lineup and they have a higher ranking than us,”” said UA freshman Andres Carrasco. “”But I believe in my teammates and I believe in myself. I think that we can go out there and beat them as a whole.””
Aside from the immense pressure, UA players have a more personal goal – to win it for the seniors.
“”We want to take this last chance to beat them,”” Carrasco said. “”It would be awesome to be able to give that to the seniors as a goodbye present.””
Women’s tennis to prove ‘we’re not a doormat’
The Arizona women’s tennis team will compete in its last regular season Pac-10 match tomorrow at 1 p.m. against No. 14 ASU at the Robson Tennis Center.
Along with many Arizona fans and athletes, the team wants to crush the rival Sun Devils (13-7, 4-4) for the Wildcats’ first conference win, but there are certain factors that may be standing in the way.
“”I would like to think that (playing ASU) has some bearing on how far the girls push themselves,”” said assistant coach Brian Ramirez. “”But honestly, at this point, the girls have really fallen short in getting ready to play in any match. They’ve had a hard time focusing on the task at hand, and that’s disappointing.””
The Wildcats (7-16, 0-7) have been working harder than ever in practice to finish the season out strong, but their lack of motivation hinders them from excelling, said team captain Danielle Steinberg, who’s ranked No. 37 nationally.
“”Things were kind of rough in Tempe last time we played them – they’re a strong team this year,”” Steinberg said. “”But what I want to see is for us to go out there and fight through the match, and show them we’re not a doormat. It looks like that in the rankings, but I just want to fight hard and prove to them that we’re capable.””
The players feel that they’re capable, but it’s a matter of bringing their game to the court.
“”(Head coach Vicky Maes) and I cannot go out and play matches for them,”” Ramirez said. “”They’re the ones responsible for going out and competing on their own. They have to be able to walk out on the court and finish the match that they start.””
For most, the pattern of losses is frustrating. For some, it’s embarrassing. For Steinberg, the road to failure ends tomorrow.
“”Personally, I can’t stand to think that ASU will come to my house and beat me on my court,”” Steinberg said. “”It’s more of a pride thing.””
