Jonas Ziverts (left) and Herman Hoeyeraal (right) play doubles against the University of California, Berkeley on April 2, 2022 at Robson Tennis Center. The Wildcats ultimately won the competition 4-1.
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff Weekend took place last weekend for the Arizona men’s tennis team in Austin, Texas. Arizona squared up against Florida Atlantic University and the University of Texas at Austin at UT‘s Weller Tennis Center facility. The Wildcats swept FAU, but took their first loss of the season against Texas, the No. 6 ranked team according to the ITA.
January 28th: No. 14 Arizona (2-0) vs. FAU (3-2) in Round 1
The Wildcats played the FAU Owls in the first round of the ITA Kickoff. Doubles pairs Colton Smith and Jay Friend, along with Gustaf Strom and Eric Padgham both won their doubles points to secure the 1-0 lead. Finishing first in the singles competition, Herman Hoeyeraal secured the first singles point over FAU’s Joao Graca, winning his matches 6-3 and 6-4. Following Hoeyeraal’s win, Smith and Strom both won their matches with identical 6-1, 6-4 scores. With the Wildcats putting on a dominant showing in the singles competition, they secured the match win 4-0.
January 29th: No. 14 Arizona (3-0) vs. No. 6 Texas (4-0) in Round 2
For the second round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Austin, the Wildcats suffered their first loss of the season against the Texas Longhorns. Texas men’s tennis is one of the top contenders for the NCAA title. Doubles pairs Jonas Ziverts and Hoeyeraal, and Smith and Friend lost their matches giving Texas the doubles point. Arizona tried to battle back, but the Longhorns were on a roll. Siem Woldeab of Texas beat Hoeyeraal for the first match off the court in singles with a 7-6 (7-5) and 6-3 result. Following that match, Cleeve Harper extended the Texas’ lead over Arizona with a 6-2 and 7-6 (7-4) win over Friend during singles game five. Strom was the final loss to secure Texas’s 4-0 sweep over the Wildcats. No. 6-ranked Texas secured their bid into ITA Tennis National Team Indoor Championships for the fifth straight year.
Arizona men’s tennis will be back in action in Tucson on Friday at 12 p.m. against Pepperdine University.
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