Freshman Sumeet Shinde clinched the match point for Arizona men’s tennis team as it defeated Sacramento State Friday, 4-3.
Shinde partnered up with sophomore Giacomo Miccini for doubles play, winning the match 8-2. In what seemed like a never-ending set, Shinde finally beat the Hornets’ Sean Kolar in a tiebreaker with a score of 7-6(1). He then kept Kolar at 3 points winning the second set and match 6-3.
“Sumeet was forced to step it up and pull us out of a jam today,” head coach Tad Berkowitz said.
The Wildcats started the day strong with a sweep in doubles matches, and turned out three singles wins to cap off the day. Unlike last year, the Wildcats dominated the Hornets by the fourth singles match of the day.
“The win today was good and I think we learned how deep college is,” Berkowitz said. “Even though this isn’t a Pac-12 team they have won their conference and played in the NCAA tournament for the last 10 years.“
In his collegiate debut, freshman Sebastian Ionescu teamed up with sophomore Andre Vidaller to defeat Merek Marksoo and Roy Brandys 7-4. Ionescu and Vidaller clinched the match point for the Wildcats in doubles play.
Ionescu fell to the Hornets’ Marksoo in a three set match with scores of 6-0, 0-6, 3-6.
“Everything has been rushed for him (Ionescu) with the holidays and then coming to the US for the first time,” Berkowitz said. “He has been practicing more in the last ten days than he has in a while.”
With a day of rest in between matches, Arizona was ready to take on San Francisco in the two-match weekend.
Arizona won over the San Francisco Dons 4-3 after standout performances by sophomore Mario Urquidi and freshman Carlos Bermudez.
“These guys were tough,” Berkowitz said. “We beat Sacramento State 4-3, and they beat them 7-0, so it was definitely a good win for the guys.”
Both Bermudez and Urquidi took their singles match to three sets. After dominating Germain Bahri in the first set 6-3, Bermudez fell just short in the second match 5-7. Determined to close out the day with a win, Bermudez kept Bahri at 3 points to win the set and match 6-3. Bermudez’s win put Arizona ahead of San Francisco 3-2.
With all the pressure on Urquidi, he battled Richard Bucalem in a three set match. The El Paso, Texas native lost the tiebreaking first set 6-7(4), but fought back to win the next two sets with scores of 6-4, 6-2. Uriquidi’s win in singles play clinched the match winning point for Arizona.
“Both Mario and Carlos had a tough day on Friday,” Berkowitz said. “They both needed these wins. They showed up and turned it around.”
Arizona remains undefeated after the second week of the season. Their record improves to 3-0.
Heartbreaking defeat for women’s tennis team
Two points away from winning her singles match, Arizona women’s tennis team’s sophomore Kim Stubbe withdrew to cost the Wildcats their opportunity at an upset against No. 17 Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. at the ITA Kick-off Weekend on Saturday.
Stubbe teamed up early in the day with fellow sophomore Susan McRann to defeat Vanerbilt’s Lauren Mira and Nelly Radeva, 8-3.
Stubbe and McRann were one of two Arizona teams to win in doubles to claim the point and lead the match 1-0.
After an exchange of match points, it came down to a nail-biting final singles match.
Tied at 3-3 the Wildcats counted on Stubbe to bring home the victory. After fighting to win the first set against Vanderbilt’s Lauren Mira 7-6, Stubbe fell 3-6 in the second set. During the third set she was merely two points away from stealing the match and the win for the Wildcats, but retired due to cramping.
“Kim’s injury was tough on us, but it brought the team together.” head coach Vicky Maes said.
The Wildcats lost to the Commodores 3-4 for a heartbreaking defeat.
Down a player, the Wildcats faced a tough battle with a line-up change on day two of the ITA Kick-off Weekend against No. 23 Alabama Sunday.
Senior Natasha Marks was the only Wildcat to win a singles match with scores of 6-2, 6-2. Marks’ win was the only point for the team as they fell to Alabama 1-4.
“Going through this experience cost us even though we were prepared to pull an upset,” Maes said. “These losses made us a stronger team.”
The Wildcats’ record now stands at 1-2 overall for the season.
