In the last home stand of the season, the No. 39 Arizona men’s tennis team earned a split, falling to No. 33 Washington 5-2 yesterday after sweeping Oregon 7-0 on Friday at the Robson Tennis Center.
Against Washington (15-4, 2-1), the Wildcats (11-6, 2-2 Pacific 10 Conference) started off slow, losing two of three doubles matches. The team was defeated in the No. 1 and 2 spots, allowing the Huskies to take the one-point lead going into singles. The only pair to win its doubles match was sophomore Bruno Alcala and freshman Peter Zimmer.
Arizona was unable to gain an edge in the singles matches either, but the Wildcats hung tough, as five of the six matches went into three sets.
There were only two players who were able to prevent Arizona from getting swept.
The first to finish was sophomore Jason Labrosse in the No. 5 slot. He was the lone player to win his victory in two straight sets in a 6-3, 6-1 win over sophomore Andy Kuharszky.
Sophomore Claudio Christen followed and added another point on the board in the No. 3 slot, giving Arizona a one-point lead. He upset No. 90 Jean-Noel Insausti, a senior, in three sets, 6-1, 2-6, 6-2.
No. 43 Roger Matalonga was unable to upend No. 32 junior Alex Slovic, losing in straight sets. Zimmer, Alcala and senior Jeff Groslimond also lost their singles matches.
On Friday, Arizona breezed by Oregon (6-14, 0-4), not needing a single third set the entire day. By winning every match in doubles play, the team was able to gain momentum heading into singles. In singles, the players followed suit.
Zimmer was back in the lineup in the No. 6 position after not competing last weekend against No. 9 UCLA. He was the first to finish by only losing four games in two sets and put another point on the board for his team.
The win was finalized after Christen defeated freshman Gustavo Loza, 6-2, 6-2.
Going into the match the team’s goal was to focus, and the players were able to do just that, said Arizona assistant coach Cory Hubbard.
Women’s tennis sweeps Washington schools
The No. 32 Arizona women’s tennis team’s final road trip of the season proved to be exactly what the Wildcats needed.
Arizona (12-8, 3-2 Pacific 10 Conference) defeated Washington State (11-12, 0-6) 5-0 on Saturday and Washington (2-15, 0-6) 5-2 on Friday to end a three-match losing streak.
With two wins in doubles over the Cougars, the team was able to take the doubles point. Washington State never got any closer from there.
The momentum carried through the rest of the match. Everyone who competed in singles ended the road trip with a win, the first three coming in two easy sets for the Wildcats.
Against the Huskies, the Wildcats did not got off to the start they had hoped for after losing the doubles point, with the only win coming in the No. 2 spot from freshman captain Danielle Steinberg and sophomore Camelia Todorova.
The team’s theory this season has been that no matter what happens in doubles, it can’t affect singles play, and this weekend the theory held true. Arizona rebounded and won five of six singles matches to close out the win.
The only loss came from No. 61 sophomore Juliette Mavroleon in the No. 3 spot to freshman Aleksandra Cekic, 6-2, 7-6.
A change in the lineup occurred in singles in the No. 1 position, as No. 48 Steinberg moved up to the top spot with senior Stephanie Balzert going down to No. 2.
