First day at Pacific 10 Championships sets the tone

The weekend seemed to be over before it had even begun for the No. 30 Arizona men’s tennis team, whose anemic first day performance set the tone for a disappointing Pacific-10 Conference Tournament in Ojai, Calif.

After losing all six singles matches on Thursday, the Wildcats (13-10, 2-4 Pac-10) were unable to rebound and refocus for the rest of the weekend, against some of the best players in the nation.

With only two conference wins in the regular season, Arizona’s chances for conference glory weren’t looking too solid.

When the singles draws were released, the pressure was slammed heavily on the shoulders of Arizona senior Pat Metham, who was matched up with USC’s Robert Farah, the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

Despite a valiant effort, Metham was swiftly denied a victory, falling 6-2, 6-1 to Farah.

Arizona senior Jay Goldman, who blossomed in his victory over UCLA’s No. 60 singles player Matt Brooklyn at the beginning of the month, was quickly subdued by Brooklyn’s teammate Maxime Tabatruong in straight sets.

The one spark of potential confidence for the Wildcats was the first-round doubles victory for Metham and Geoff Embry, as they beat Oregon’s Alex Cornelissen and Marco Verdasco.

Hoping to shake off the tough weekend, the Wildcats aim to regroup and turn toward the NCAA championships starting May 14.

Women confident heading into NCAA Championships

After tough conference competition throughout the regular season, the No. 50 Arizona women’s tennis team returns to Tucson for its final practices of the season.

The Wildcats are boasting a renewed vigor and confidence after a solid showing at the Pac-10 Tournament in Ojai over the weekend.

Limping into the postseason with only one conference victory, the Wildcats (13-9, 1-7 Pac-10) finally have some momentum to finish out the 2010 campaign.

Sophomore Natasha Marks, who fought her way to the finals in last year’s tournament, was able to subdue Oregon’s Julia Metzger on Thursday in two sets after winning a first-set tiebreaker.

Unfortunately, Marks’ finals repeat was put to rest when her efforts were overshadowed by UCLA’s Yasmin Schnack in the round of 16.

On the doubles courts, the Arizona women were able to come up with three wins, with the team of Marks and Claire Rietsch making the quarterfinals after taking victory over Stanford’s Mallory Burdette and Stacey Tan, 8-4, on Saturday.

With newfound conference confidence, the women join their male counterparts in NCAA championships in May. With their final weeks together as a team, the Wildcats hope to retain the efforts that drove them through the tournament this weekend.

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