After a historic upset over UCLA last weekend, the No. 35 Arizona men’s tennis team will finish out the regular season at home, taking on the No. 48 Boise State Broncos at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center on Sunday.
The Wildcats (13-19, 2-4 Pacific 10 Conference) managed to beat the Bruins for the first time in 75 meetings. They’ll have to carry that winning energy against a tenacious Broncos (16-9, 4-1 Western Athletic Conference) squad.
“”We were all excited about the UCLA win, and I think we have a lot of momentum and definitely have a good vibe as a team right now,”” said Arizona head coach Tad Berkowitz. “”Boise State presents a whole new challenge. They’re a good team that’s well coached, and they’re definitely going to be ready to play against us.””
Like Arizona, Boise State also brings momentum into the contest. And after a pair of solid wins last weekend, the Broncos managed to move one spot up in the ITA rankings.
In singles action last weekend, the Wildcats managed to come together and attack the Bruins.
Arizona junior Jay Goldman, who until last weekend was struggling with his game, managed to regroup and beat No. 52 Matt Brooklyn.
“”It was nice to see Jay gaining some confidence,”” Berkowitz said. “”He’s played some tough matches and has had some really heavy competition, so it’s nice to see him step up and have a good win.””
Broncos’ sophomore James Meredith, the No. 42 singles player in the country, will be the game changer for Boise State.
For the Wildcats, the biggest win of the season has undoubtedly given Arizona’s men the most momentum of the season, and even the players who lost against UCLA can still be proud of their team’s effort.
In their last regular season match donning the cardinal and navy, seniors Andres Arango, Ravid Hazi and Pat Metham are looking to give the Arizona faithful a fond farewell.
“”You always want to finish on a high note, and you always want to go into the postseason with confidence and momentum,”” Berkowitz said. “”We’re just going to treat it like a whole new day and look to have the same energy and passion as last weekend.””
Women looking to regroup for regular season finale
Returning home from a difficult road trip to Los Angeles, the No. 55 Arizona women’s tennis team is looking for a win in its final matches of the season against the No. 54 Sacramento State University Hornets and the No. 27 ASU Sun Devils in Tucson this weekend.
The Wildcats (12-8, 1-6 Pacific 10 Conference) have lost 14 straight points, with only one win. Arizona will come out gunning on Friday against the Hornets (16-5, 7-0 Big Sky Conference) and Saturday against the Sun Devils (12-5, 4-3).
“”Sac State and ASU are great teams, but we can beat them if we all step up,”” Arizona head coach Vicky Maes said.
The Hornets come into this weekend with 65 straight conference victories, and although the Big Sky is not nearly the conference that the Pac-10 is, the Hornets still have an incredible amount of momentum to face the Wildcats.
“”We have gone back and forth with Sac State in the past few years,”” Maes said. “”We know we will have to play them hard to get the win.””
Like Arizona, the Sun Devils will be licking their wounds following a pair of losses to USC and UCLA over the weekend. However, unlike the Wildcats, they were able to take a few points from the Southern California schools.
“”ASU has certainly achieved some remarkable results this year,”” Maes said. “”But going into a rivalry match like that, anything can happen.””
The Arizona’s answers to the power of Sac State and ASU will be singles players No. 107 Natasha Marks and No. 124 Sarah Landsman, who, despite their performances last weekend, will be aiming for redemption victories in their last regular season contests.
“”We had a rough time in LA but we are looking forward to closing out the season on a high note,”” Maes said. “”We have played our best tennis at home this year, and we hope to rebound with two solid matches.””
