The Arizona men’s tennis team knew that Friday’s match against University of Florida would be a grueling one.
The day before the two schools squared off in Gainesville, Fla., at the National Spring Kick-off, the Gators (4-0) jumped to a No. 7 ranking nationwide. They substantiated their top-ten status with a 5-2 win over Arizona, which currently holds the No. 48 spot.
In doubles play, Arizona’s Andres Arango and Jason Zafiros were taken down by Florida’s duo of Carlos Cueto and Alex Lacroix by the score of 8-3. The Wildcats’ tandem of Jay Goldman and Ravid Hazi struggled and eventually succumbed to Florida’s Johnny Hamui and Jeff Dadamo 8-4.
In singles play, Andre Carrasco and Zafiros were the only two Wildcats to emerge victorious.
Arizona (3-1) bounced back in Saturday’s match against No. 42 NC State with a 4-1 victory. The Wildcats continue to be bolstered by consistent standout performances from freshman Zafiros, who has yet to lose a set all season. Zafiros took down the Wolf Pack’s Julian Sullivan 7-6, 6-4. Arizona claimed victory handily in the other four singles matches – losing only the doubles point – in which Goldman and Hazi could not clinch a win against North Carolina’s Pulgar and Jay Weinacker.
Women maintain perfect record
ASU take note.
The Arizona women’s tennis team, for the second week in a row, sent its opponent packing with relative ease. The Wildcats took down NAU 6-1 on Saturday, which dropped the Lumberjacks to 0-2 on the season.
Arizona (2-0) received slight resistance in doubles play. Natasha Marks and Claire Rietsch trumped NAU’s Kim Van Ginkel and Edit Suhajda 8-4 and Danielle Steinberg and Sarah Landsman defeated Leslie Vial and Yumi Hasegawa 8-0. Ariane Masschelein and Debora Castany, however, lost to Orsi Golovics and Stacey Pinchbeck 8-4.
The Wildcats were also able to dominate in singles play. Steinberg, again playing in the No. 1 spot, bested Van Ginkel 6-1, 6-0 – the most lopsided victory of the day. Debora Castany, in the No. 6 spot, came out strong against her opponent in Hasegawa, defeating her 7-6 in the first set. However, Hasegawa battled back and won 6-2 in the second set and ultimately clinched the match with a hard-fought 10-8 victory in the third.
Arizona’s success against a pesky NAU team puts them in a good position for next weekend when it will host Cal-State Northridge on Saturday and a highly anticipated match against Pac-10 rival ASU on Sunday.
