Helena Pueyo stepped up big for the Arizona women’s basketball team throughout the Pac-12 Tournament, nearly leading the Wildcats to an upset victory over No. 2-seed USC in the second round. Meanwhile, the No. 7 Arizona men’s tennis team continued its blistering hot start to the season, going 2-0 in Champaign, Illinois, including a 4-3 victory over No. 11 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to move to 14-2 on the season.
Player of the Week – Helena Pueyo – Arizona women’s basketball
Although Arizona fell short in the Pac-12 Tournament, Pueyo displayed her versatility on both sides of the court throughout the Wildcats’ first and second-round matchups, averaging a team-high 16.5 points, 5.5 assists and 5.5 steals.
During Arizona’s opening-round matchup against No. 10-seed University of Washington, Pueyo scored a team-high 14 points, dished out five assists and frustrated the Huskies’ offense by snatching five steals and four blocks. Her performance helped lead the Wildcats past Washington 58-50, keeping the Wildcats’ hopes for a trip to March Madness alive.
In the second round, Pueyo continued her stellar play, once again leading the team in scoring with 19 points, six assists and six steals. Pueyo collected her 305th steal of her Wildcat career, surpassing Dee-Dee Wheeler as Arizona’s all-time leader in career steals. Although her performance wasn’t enough for the Wildcats to top the No. 2-seeded Trojans, Arizona’s narrow 65-62 loss against a USC team that wound up winning the Pac-12 Tournament has brought national attention to the Wildcats, a team currently sitting on the bubble for March Madness.
Team of the Week – Men’s Tennis
The No. 7 Arizona men’s tennis team traveled to Champaign, Illinois, for two matches against Eastern Illinois and No. 11 Illinois. The Wildcats collected their seventh and eighth straight victories with a 7-0 sweep against Eastern Illinois and a closely contested 4-3 victory over Illinois.
Arizona dominated from the start in its match against Eastern Illinois, winning all its doubles and singles matches. Herman Hoeyeraal won all his singles matches, while Nick Lagaev collected his 86th single win, tying Filip Malbasic for the most singles wins in program history. The Wildcats won the match 7-0, with Iñaki Cabrera-Bello, Eric Padgham, Sasha Rozin and Casper Christensen winning their respective matches.
Against Illinois, the Wildcats rebounded after dropping both doubles matches by dominating singles. Jay Friend, Hoeyeraal, Lagaev and Christensen secured victories to clinch the narrow 4-3 victory over No. 11 Illinois, as Arizona collected its fifth top-25 victory of the season. The Wildcats secured their highest ranking in program history at the No. 7 spot in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, as they entered conference play with a ton of momentum.
Next, Arizona travels to Los Angeles to face No. 32 USC on Friday, March 22, at 4 p.m. and No. 31 UCLA on Sunday, March 24, at noon.
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