Both Arizona tennis teams, beset by injuries, fatigue and just general on-court struggles, are limping to the finish line as the season winds down.
The women’s team, ranked No. 29, lost to No. 8 UCLA during the weekend. It was the team’s first home loss of the season as Arizona fell to 2-4 in the Pacific 10 Conference.
From the get-go, this match was a struggle for Arizona, as the team lost both doubles matches on its way to losing the doubles point. UCLA’s dynamic No. 27-ranked duo of McCall Jones and Noelle Hickey was simply too much for Natasha Marks and Lacey Smyth to handle, as they downed the Wildcat pair 8-2.
Debora Castany and Kim Stubbe, Arizona’s second doubles pairing, found a similar fate in an 8-1 defeat.
In singles play, Arizona kept a few matches close, but still was unable to come out victorious on any of the five courts. On court one, Marks lost to UCLA’s No. 58 McCall Jones 6-0, 6-3. Sophomore Elizabeth Hammond fell to Nina Pantic 6-0, 6-1 and Castany, the junior from Barcelona, fell to Carling Seguso 6-2, 6-0.
Smyth gave No. 61 Andrea Remynse everything she had, but unfortunately she couldn’t pull out a victory, narrowly falling 6-4, 6-4.
The Wildcats, with the recent forfeitures and losses, find themselves reeling at the worst possible time. But the season is not over, and the team hopes to snap out of its funk in the Pac-10 Championships in Ojai, Calif. The tournament doesn’t start until April 28, so that extra week of rest could not have come at a better time for Arizona.
The Wildcat men’s team, on the other hand, is struggling to the point that it might cost the team a chance at the postseason. Against two very tough opponents this weekend in UCLA and USC, Arizona only mustered one total point in the two matches. They were unable to find the same amount of success they did last year when they shocked everyone and upset the heavily favored Bruins squad. This year, they were swept in a 6-0 loss.
“”It was a challenging weekend but we look to finish strong with our final two matches,”” said head coach Tad Berkowitz.
Freshman Kieren Thompson achieved the lone point of the weekend for the Wildcats, winning against USC’s Michael Grant 7-5, 6-7, 10-8. Unfortunately for three other Wildcats, they were forced to face three players ranked in the top 50 in the country in singles. Freshman Giacomo Miccini had the challenge of facing the No. 1 overall player in the country in USC’s Steve Johnson and lost 6-2, 6-2.
The men’s team also has a week off before heading to New Mexico to try and halt its eight-game losing streak against Idaho and Boise State.
