By all accounts, the Arizona men’s tennis team has not had it easy in terms of scheduling.
After the mixed results from last weekend – a 5-2 loss to top-10 ranked Florida and a 4-1 win over North Carolina State – the Wildcats are looking ahead to South Florida on Saturday at 1 p.m.
“”They’re a very good team all the way across the lineup. They’re very strong,”” said UA head coach Tad Berkowitz of the Bulldogs, who after a strong showing against UC-Santa Barbara last weekend at the NCAA National Indoor Tournament are ranked No. 28 nationally. “”They’re a team that I think if we play well, we could definitely beat.””
Arizona is 3-1 on the season and possesses several strong competitors, such as freshman Jason Zafiros, who has yet to lose a singles match.
“”I’ve always known he’s a tough kid, a great competitor,”” said Berkowitz.
He also credited Jay Goldman and Andres Arango for strong performances in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, particularly in the win over North Carolina State. Although, due to tournament time constraints neither player was allowed to finish their singles matches.
“”In all honesty in that North Carolina State match, all the guys really stepped it up,”” Berkowitz added. “”Even the matches that we didn’t complete, Goldman and Arango were deep in the third set.””
Berkowitz also showed little discouragement in the team’s Florida loss.
“”Even the Florida match, I was proud of them,”” he said. “”In a weird way, it was nice to see the guys upset after the match. We felt we had a chance to beat them … there was a sense of being able to compete.””
As for his team’s morale, Berkowitz revealed that it is high.
Arizona will be at home for 11 of 12 of their next matches.
“”I think they’re pleased with the weekend,”” he said. “”I think they believe in each other. I think when the match is on the line, they feel comfortable with each individual guy to step up and do their part.
“”It was a grind weekend,”” Berkowitz added. “”This week we’ve been getting ourselves one hundred percent and feeling good with all our strokes and movement. Also I think we’ve tried to work on a couple things doubles-wise.””
