The University of Arizona men’s tennis team (24-4, 9-2 Big 12) will host the University of Denver (18-6, 7-0 Summit League) in the opening round of this year’s NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships on Friday, May 2, at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center. Arizona slotted into the No. 10 seed after stunning the Big 12 tournament with a defiant victory over the University of Central Florida on Sunday, April 20, in Waco, Texas.
The Wildcats have appeared in the last six NCAA tournaments, dating back to Saturday, May 4, 2019, when the Wildcats lost to the University of Oklahoma 4-0 in the opening round of the tournament.
The Denver Pioneers enter the NCAA tournament for their second straight season after winning their second consecutive Summit League title and going undefeated in both regular season conference and conference tournament play.
Get to know Denver:
Denver is a worthy foe for the Wildcats. The Pioneers have been the cream of the crop when it comes to men’s tennis in the Summit League, winning seven conference titles in the last 12 years. Along with conference accolades, the Pioneers’ in-season conference play has been nothing short of perplexing. The Pioneers haven’t lost a regular-season conference matchup since meeting the Drake University Bulldogs in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018, where the Pioneers lost 5-2. Since then, the Pioneers have managed a perfect 35 conference matchup win streak.
The Pioneers are led by senior Daniel Sancho Arbizu. Sancho Arbizu’s time with the Pioneers has been nothing short of dominant, as the senior has led Denver in singles record for the past two seasons, going 28-7 last season for Denver, then showing a 30-5 record this season. Sancho Arbizu has been on a tear of late with 15 straight singles match wins, all of which came out in two-set victories.
Sancho Arbizu is also the co-headliner for the Pioneers’ best doubles duo, joined along with freshman Theo Coats. Coats and Sancho Arbizu have gone 17-3 on the season, with two of their three losses coming against ranked opponents in the No. 56 University of Utah and the No. 65 University of New Mexico. The pair has nine more wins than their closest team counterparts.
Denver has three other players who have hit the 20-win mark, with these being Samuel Rovai, Rikuto Yamaguchi and Raffaello Papajcik. Rovai, a freshman, has gone 23-10 on the season, with his two best matches being two two-set victories over then-No. 65 New Mexico and then-No. 65 Utah State University. Yamaguchi, a senior, has gone 22-13 on the season, with him going 8-1 in his last nine finished matches. Finally, Papajcik, a junior, has gone 20-7 on the season, with him reaching a national ranking of 43 from Jan. 17 to Feb. 2.
The Pioneers have had the Wildcats’ number as of late; Denver has won the last two matches between the schools in Tucson and Denver, Colorado. Their most recent matchup occurred in Denver on March 10, 2017, as the Pioneers narrowed out a close matchup, going 4-3 over the Wildcats. The Pioneers also had the last laugh in Tucson when the pair met on Feb. 21, 2016, with the Pioneers taking control on the away court, going 5-2 over Arizona.
Catching up with the Wildcats:
Arizona has not just one player with a 30+ win mark, but two. First being Jay Friend, who has lit the college tennis scene alive, currently sitting at No. 6 in the country with a 32-4 record on an eight-match win streak. Second is Alexander Rozin, who has been a crucial player in the Wildcats’ singles rotation, with a 30-6 record on another eight-match win streak. The power core of the Wildcats would not be complete without mentioning Colton Smith. Smith has been methodical and on point for the Wildcats this season, going 22-2 while riding a 15-match win streak.
The Wildcats have tested 32 total doubles pairings over the season, with the best-performing duo coming in Friend and Eric Padgham. This duo is the only pair with 10+ wins, amassing a 17-3 record on the season and an undefeated 6-0 in conference play.
The Wildcats look to keep the pressure on their opponents and hopefully pass the hump of the Sweet Sixteen that has plagued them for the past two seasons.
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