The No. 10 University of Arizona men’s tennis team (25-4, 6-2 Big 12) swept the University of Denver 4-0 with stellar displays on doubles and singles courts on Friday, May 2, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Arizona would easily handle the Pioneers on most courts, beating them in only two set victories.
Doubles:
Arizona’s doubles play started electric with Casper Christensen and Filip Gustafsson securing court 3 with a speedy 6-3 victory over Denver’s Ryoma Mishiro and Raffaello Papajcik. The nail in the coffin came from Iñaki Cabrera-Bello and Colton Smith, the No. 45 duo in the nation. Cabrera-Bello and Smith would squeeze by beating Denver’s Connor Robb-Wilcox and Rikuto Yamaguchi 6-4.
Singles:
Singles proved the same, as Arizona clarified they were here to play. On court 2, Jay Friend secured the first singles victory after defeating Denver’s Papajcik 6-0, 6-3. Friend wouldn’t be alone in sweeping the opening set as Alexander Rozin would then beat Denver’s Mishiro 6-0, 6-2 on court 5. Finally, Zoran Ludoski would secure the winning point as he beat Denver’s Yamaguchi on court 3 6-3, 6-1. Arizona singles wins all came easily without letting Denver come too close.
Looking ahead:
The Wildcat will be facing Harvard University in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, May 3, at 1 p.m. Harvard moves on after previously sweeping the University of Washington.
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