After the Arizona men’s tennis team suffered back-to-back blowout losses in Minnesota last weekend, it’s back in familiar territory as it hosts No. 24 San Diego on Friday and Denver on Sunday at LaNelle Robson Tennis Center.
“We have a tough weekend ahead,” said men’s head coach Tad Berkowitz. “This season we have a very strong schedule, which includes a very competitive home schedule.”
In their last meeting on Feb. 13, 2011, Arizona lost to San Diego 6-1. That loss marked the first one for the team at home at that point in the spring season. The Wildcats were ranked No. 43 at the time, while the Toreros were ranked No. 50.
Things worked out differently for Arizona the following weekend, as the team defeated Denver 5-2 on Feb. 20, 2011. The Wildcats will look to win both matches this time around and stop their three-game slump.
“We experienced a few growing pains,” Berkowitz said. “The guys know they were tough losses, but we tell them not to get down on themselves. All we can do is learn and mature each week.”
As for the women’s team, senior Natasha Marks has led the team to victory in back-to-back weekends. However, women’s head coach Vicky Maes said she hopes the victory will come as a team effort instead of relying on a single player.
“We are really happy to be home,” she said. “I feel we have the advantage going into this weekend. We are still struggling with inconsistencies at the five and six spots, but are solid at the top of the lineup.”
The women’s team will host North Texas on Friday and Cal Poly on Saturday. This marks the first-ever meeting between Arizona and North Texas, but the second meeting with Cal Poly, with the other meeting coming in 2006. Arizona took that match 6-1 to continue its undefeated streak at that point in the 2006 spring season, marking the best start to a women’s tennis season since 1997.
Friday’s men’s play will begin at 11:30 a.m. with the women following immediately after. On Saturday, the women’s team will begin play at noon. The men’s team will wrap up the weekend on Sunday at 11 a.m.
