Arizona women’s tennis (7-0) hits the road for its first matches away from home for the season to play No. 19 Texas Tech (5-1) on Friday and Georgia State (2-3) on Saturday in Lubbock, Texas.
Texas Tech is the Wildcats’ toughest test of the season thus far, as the Lady Raiders are the first of four ranked opponents that the UA will play in nonconference play.
“Well, it’s our first weekend traveling, so it’s quite exciting to get on the road,” senior Susan Mc Rann said. “We are 7-0 now at home, so we have a lot of confidence going into it.”
The Wildcats are having their best start in the last seven seasons, having only lost one point all season.
“I think we are in a good position going on our first road trip,” head coach Vicky Maes said. “Being 7-0 … we have been challenged in some matches, but not as much as we will be challenged this weekend.”
Georgia State is coming off of two losses against Tulsa and Purdue, which are both top-ranked opponents. Leading the Georgia State Panthers is Abigail Tere-Apisah, who is ranked No. 10 in the country. Nikki Sanders and Kenna Kilgo lead the Texas Tech Lady Raiders, who are coached by veteran Todd Petty.
“Texas Tech is a top 20 team,” Mc Rann said. “So, it is a great opportunity to show what we got and hopefully we take it to them.”
On the men’s side, Arizona (7-5) will host a pair of matches against Idaho (3-3) on Saturday and Nevada (3-1) on Sunday at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center.
“We had a rough start, but I think we have been improving,” senior Frederik Ask said. “I think the group is becoming closer. Everybody is fighting for each other, and it feels like we have reached a new page in working together.”
The Wildcats have continued to battle back after their tough start to the season and are coming off of back-to-back wins against Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara.
“Despite taking a couple of tough losses early in the season,” head coach Tad Berkowitz said, “I think that is only helping us down the road and making us into a tougher team.”
—Follow Matt Wall @Mwall20