The No. 15 University of Arizona men’s tennis team (15-3, 0-1 Big 12) continued their impressive season, going 6-2 between March 1-16. This was highlighted by an invitational win at the Diablo Invite and a dominant 7-0 sweep of Kalamazoo College.
The Wildcats kicked off the stretch with a winning performance at the Diablo Invite in Tempe at Kiwanis Tennis Center on Saturday, March 1. Arizona swept Arizona State 4-0 in the final after edging the University of Washington 4-3 in the semifinals.
Arizona rallied from a lost doubles point to kick off the tournament facing Washington with key singles wins. Alexander Rozin’s 6-2, 6-3 victory set the tone, while then-No. 8 Jay Friend overcame then-No. 57 Cesar Bouchelaghem at the top spot. The decisive match came on court four, where Filip Gustafsson staged a comeback win to send Arizona to the final to face the Sun Devils on Sunday, March 2.
Against ASU, the Wildcats secured the doubles point with wins from Zoran Ludoski and Gustafsson, along with Friend and Eric Padgham. In singles, Rozin, Friend and Gustafsson delivered straight-set victories to clinch the championship.
Returning home to Tucson, the Wildcats swept a doubleheader against St. John’s University and Northern Arizona University on Friday, March 7. The Cats didn’t drop a set in either 4-0 wins while playing in LaNelle Robson Tennis Center.
Friend, then ranked No. 9 nationally, extended his undefeated singles record to 11-0, cruising past St. John’s Max Amling 6-2, 6-0. Freshmen Matthias Uwe-Kask and Oskar Jansson also stepped up against NAU, securing straight-set victories.
Arizona kept its momentum rolling on Sunday, March 9, outlasting Tulsa 5-2 for its ninth straight win. Despite dropping the doubles point, the Wildcats rebounded in singles. Friend dominated Tulsa’s Alex Okonkwo 6-2, 6-0, while Rozin, Uwe-Kask and Casper Christensen all delivered crucial wins to secure the match before Gustafsson added an extra point.
The Wildcat’s win streak ended shortly after on Wednesday, March 12 in East Lansing, Mich. where Michigan State University sneaked past the Wildcats 4-3.
Arizona started strong, winning the doubles point with Friend and Padgham taking a tiebreaker. While in singles, Friend earned a statement victory over then-No. 4 Ozan Baris, but Arizona dropped key matches on three other courts, with Christensen falling short on court five securing the win for the Spartans.
The next day in Kalamazoo, Mich., the Wildcats rebounded quickly, sweeping Kalamazoo 7-0 as the double’s teams went undefeated and six Arizona players secured straight-set victories, including Uwe-Kask’s flawless 6-0, 6-0 performance.
The Wildcats would come back out in their first Big 12 matchup traveling to Orlando, Fla. to face the University of Central Florida on Sunday, March 16. Despite rolling into the matchup off the sweep against Kalamazoo, the Wildcats would fall to the Knights in a nail-biting 4-3 finish.
UCF had Arizona’s number early on as the Knights would clinch the doubles point with wins on courts 1 and 3, including a loss for the then-No. 54 Wildcat duo of Colton Smith and Iñaki Cabrera-Bello. Arizona’s then-No.58 Friend and Padgham would be the lone winners. In the singles, it would be the story of the Knights as they would win 2,3,4, including a crucial set over Friend for his first dual loss on the season.
Looking ahead
The Wildcats continue to their Big 12 schedule as they travel to Fort Worth, Texas to face TCU on Friday, March 20 at 3:30 p.m. The Wildcats are 0-3 against the Horned Frogs, with their last matchup coming in 2020 that ended in a 4-0 loss for Arizona.
Follow the Daily Wildcat on Instagram and Twitter/X
