The Arizona men’s tennis team has had quite the cause for celebration lately: junior Andres Arango was named Pacific 10 Conference Player of the Week and the Wildcats rose to No. 40 in national rankings.
The University of San Francisco, who Arizona will face at home on Saturday at noon, has yet to win a match all season. In fact, the 0-4 Dons have been shut out 7-0 in the last three of their four matches.
UA head coach Tad Berkowitz, however, shies away from celebrating the week as a total success as of yet.
“”San Francisco is a decent team. They’ve got a tough schedule,”” he said. “”Their record doesn’t show it, but they’re going to be a good team. The main thing for us this weekend is to stay focused and continue to compete hard.
“”Again, it’s college tennis,”” he added. “”You’ve got to be ready to go every weekend, every match.””
Berkowitz also praised Arango for his outstanding season as he’s been one of the top performing tennis players in the Pac-10.
“”It’s a great honor for him. He deserved it,”” he said of the ASU transfer’s recent play. “”For the quality of teams we’ve played last weekend and how easily he won his matches was a great effort. He’s doing very well.””
Berkowitz added that he will not be making any adjustments to the lineup this weekend or resting any of his players. “”The guys that are playing right now are playing with confidence, and all are feeling good with their game,”” he said. “”You’d hate to keep anybody out of the lineup – I want to keep everybody fresh, everybody tough.””
W-tennis goes to Lubbock for two matches
Today the Arizona women’s tennis team will embark on its first road trip of the season. The Wildcats, who are 3-0 in the season, look to maintain their record in their matches against Texas Tech and Rice.
Head coach Vicky Maes said any lineup adjustments this weekend will be minor. She indicated that of her team’s two competitors for the weekend, she feels that Rice will be the stronger of the two. The Owls are 7-1 on the season and have currently won four straight matches, most recently shutting out Prairie View on Wednesday 6-0 despite their coach resting Julie Chao and Ana Guzman, who typically start in the Nos. 1 and 2 singles positions. Rice is also ranked No. 69 nationally.
Texas Tech (2-2) most recently lost a 7-0 decision to Denver University.
“”I think it’s going to be tough to play at Lubbock,”” Maes said of her team’s first road match of the season. “”It tends to be a bit windy there.””
Maes is confident in the strengths of her own team, who posted a strong win against Cal-State Northridge and a bold showing against in-state rival ASU last weekend, even capturing the doubles point before the match was ultimately canceled due to inclement weather.
“”We’re playing two teams that we feel we should beat,”” she said. “”It’s good for us to have that extra pressure.””
