The Arizona women’s tennis team continued its recent hot streak this weekend, defeating both Boise State and Saint Mary’s College in Boise, Idaho.
The No. 41 Wildcats started strong versus No. 42 Boise State on Friday, clinching the doubles point as the combinations of Lacey Smyth and Kim Stubbe along with Sarah Landsman and Natasha Marks both came out on top by scores of 8-2 and 9-7, respectively. In singles play, the Wildcats won four of six matches with Landsman, Smyth, Stubbe and Susan Mc Rann winning their matches. The final score was 5-2 in Arizona’s advantage.
Against the No. 46 Saint Mary’s Gaels on Saturday, the Wildcats didn’t start off as strong as the prior day, losing the doubles point. They did manage to win one doubles match, with the duo of Marks and Landsman prevailing 8-1. In singles action, the Wildcats won four out of six matches with victories coming from Marks, Smyth, Stubbe and Mc Rann.
Despite her singles loss to Saint Mary’s on Saturday, overall, Landsman continued her fantastic play of late. On Friday she defeated Boise State’s Lauren Megale 7-6, 6-1 and excluding Saturday’s loss, she has won her last nine singles matches and seven out of her last nine doubles matches. Pacific 10 Conference play starts next week for the Wildcats as they welcome Oregon and Washington State to Tucson.
On the men’s side, the Wildcats faced three tough opponents this weekend, starting with the No. 17 Texas Tech Red Raiders, and they struggled to a 1-2 record on the weekend in the Blue/Gray National Classic at the Lagoon Park Tennis Center in Texas.
Their first match started off with a hour and a half rain delay, and it didn’t get much better as they went on to be shut out by the Red Raiders by a score of 4-0.
“”We had our chances on pretty much all the courts in the first sets,”” said head coach Tad Berkowitz. “”Tech, though, stepped up and did a good job to recapture the momentum. The guys fought hard today against a good team.””
Arizona bounced back the following afternoon, proving victorious versus No. 37 Boise State Broncos. The match didn’t start off so well, however, as the Wildcats lost the doubles point for only the third time this season. They bounced back in singles action, despite the fact that four freshmen started for the Wildcats, and won four out of the six matches. Andre Vidaller, Geoff Embry, Mario Urquidi and Sam Barr were the winners for the Wildcats.
In the final day of the Blue/Gray Classic, the Wildcats fell to No. 32 Alabama Crimson Tide by a score of 4-1. Arizona’s only point of the afternoon came via a singles victory from junior Jason Zafiros. He defeated Alabama’s Jarryd Botha by scores of 7-5, 6-3.
“”We had our opportunities, but ‘Bama did a good job closing out the match,”” Berkowitz said. “”This weekend we proved that we can compete at a high level regardless of who plays in the lineup.””
