Sophomore Kieren Thompson was the only Wildcat to come away with a Pac-12 win in singles play after the Arizona men’s tennis team fell to Oregon 6-1 and Washington 7-0 on the road.
“The northwest trip is always challenging and I hope our guys gained experience playing in different conditions,” head coach Tad Berkowitz said.
On Friday, the Wildcats (5-16, 0-6 Pac-12) did not go down without a fight as sophomore Andre Vidaller and freshman Carlos Bermudez took their singles matches into three sets.
Vidaller dropped the first set to the Ducks’ Robin Cambier by just two games. Determined not to go down in two sets, Vidaller fought back to claim the second set 6-2. But Vidaller could not hold on as he dropped the third set with a score of 6-2.
Meanwhile, on court four, Bermudez took the first set against Oregon’s Daniel Sardu with a tiebreaking score of 7-6(5). Sardu split the match by winning the second set 6-3. Bermudez dropped the third set by two games with a score of 6-4.
Thompson put the Wildcats on the board for the match after defeating the Ducks’ Jose Izquierdo in a 7-6(5) tiebreaker and holding Izquierdo to three points in the second set.
On Sunday, Arizona traveled to Washington to take on the Huskies in 50-degree weather with very little sunshine.
None of the Wildcats could come up with a win in doubles or singles play, but junior Frank Chen made his Pac-12 debut in singles play.
“We will gear ourselves back up and look to get a win on Saturday for our last regular season match,” Berkowitz said.
W-tennis shines in shutouts
Shutout performances spread like wildfire in both singles and doubles play for the Arizona women’s tennis team this weekend, as it beat both Colorado and Utah 7-0 at home.
“The two wins were significant for us in many ways,” head coach Vicky Maes said. “Mostly because we needed to get back to winning, but also because we wanted to keep the home streak alive.”
The Wildcats (14-8, 4-5 Pac-12) are undefeated at home with a record of 12-0.
On Friday, Sophomores Kim Stubbe and Susan McRann teamed up in doubles play as usual. The duo shut out Colorado’s Camille Sabourin and Kristina Schleich with a score of 8-0, extending their doubles record to 11-3.
Shutout performances continued into singles play as Stubbe, freshman Laura Oldham and senior Sarah Landsman claimed wins, holding their opponents scoreless in one of the two sets.
On Saturday, Oldham repeated a singles set shutout against Utah’s Natasha Smith, marking her second win in conference play.
Meanwhile, on court four, Landsman’s aggressiveness earned her a shutout singles match against Utah’s Danielle Flores.
“What struck me this weekend was the realization that the team has grown so much all year,” Maes said. “We had very close losses against Cal, Stanford, UCLA and USC, but it was clear we learned a ton from those, as we never gave Colorado or Utah a chance. We made it a strong team effort and didn’t let up on any courts.”
Arizona’s last match of the season is against ASU. This match will mark the last home match for Landsman and fellow senior teammates Natasha Marks and Debora Castany.
The team is hosting a ZonaZoo Day in hopes to gain support and create unity. Fans are encouraged to wear red as they join a “red out.”
