The Arizona women’s tennis team ended its five-match losing streak this weekend with victories over University of Alabama at Birmingham and California State University, Sacramento.
The Wildcats have been out of sorts lately because of a number of different issues, but were able to put them aside and give the home fans two fine performances this weekend.
For the short term, the Wildcats are out of their slump and back on track.
Arizona head coach Vicky Maes spoke further on the short-term effects this weekend will have on the rest of the season.
“Anytime we play conference games, we know we are going to have our hands full,” Maes said. “To be able to play some non-conference matches … in the middle of the season is great for our confidence.”
The weekend got off to a good start on Thursday after Arizona beat UAB 4-2. Though the Wildcats fell to the UAB Blazers in doubles, they were quick to rebound in singles play, as three Wildcat players won in straight sets.
In what has always been a strong area for the Wildcats, the team’s singles play propelled it to victory. Senior Shayne Austin and sophomore Devin Chypyha regained the confidence and sharpness that was missing in previous matches.
Saturday brought with it the Hornets of Sacramento State, led by head coach Dima Hrynashka.
But in what could be consider a down year for Hrynashka, his Hornets didn’t have it in them to stop the Wildcats, falling 5-0, giving Arizona its fourth sweep of the season and improved the team’s non-conference home record to 9-0.
The Wildcats came out hungry in this match and played with so much emotion, it was destined they would walk away as winners. Every part of the team’s game was working toward perfection. Confidence appeared to have been regained in singles play, as Arizona won in straight sets on five courts.
A large takeaway from this weekend was the overall clear improvement in doubles. Austin spoke about doubles and how, despite previous struggles in the doubles department, the team is on the right track.
“Doubles is something we have a lot of potential in and we are right there,” Austin said. “We are going to start practicing news things and just hope to go out there and make ourselves better.”
All in all, this weekend could not have gone better for the Wildcats — they ended a losing streak, showed improvement in doubles and finished the weekend with a sweep in front of home fans.
While the road ahead will still be difficult, this team showed it still has something to play for and won’t go down without a fight.
Follow Daily Wildcat Sports on Twitter.
