Feb. 1, 2013
TUCSON -
The Arizona Wildcat men's tennis team clinched their fourth consecutive victory in a 7-0 win over the St. Mary's Gaels. The Wildcats dominated play, claiming all three doubles matches and all six singles matches en route to a sweep at LaNelle Robson Tennis Center.
In doubles play, Giacomo Miccini and Mario Urquidi teamed up to play Sief El Sherbini and Thomas Alexander Hunt on court three. The junior duo claimed the first two games before El Sherbini and Hunt clinched a win. Miccini and Urquidi answered with another win but the Gael duo fought back to win one and bring the match to 3-2. Arizona went on to win three straight before El Sherbini and Hunt claimed another game. Miccini and Urquidi won the next game to bring the match to 7-3 and come within one of a win but El Sherbini and Hunt battled back to win two games and bring the match to 7-5. Arizona claimed the next game and clinched the match, 8-5.
On court two, Kieren Thompson and Sumeet Shinde played Toumas Manner and James Makiewicz. The Arizona duo came out to a strong start, winning the first three games. Manner and Makiewicz came back to win a game but Thompson and Shinde answered with another win. The St. Mary's team then won two straight to bring the match to 4-3, but Thompson and Shinde won the next two to extend their lead. The teams then traded wins to bring the match to 7-4 before the Arizona team clinched the match, 8-4. The win marked the second for the Wildcats and the doubles point went to Arizona.
Last to finish in doubles action was the team of Fredrik Ask and Naoki Takeda on court one. Ask and Takeda, who each joined the team in January, played the Gaels team of Joakim Norstrom and Jesse Kiuru. The Arizona duo earned the first game but fell behind as Norstrom and Kiuru claimed the next two. Ask and Takeda came back to win the next game and tie the match at two. The court followed that pattern as Norstrom and Kiuru took the leat at 3-2, and 4-3 but Ask and Takeda continued to fight back for the tie. With the match at four games each, Ask and Takeda battled their way to their first lead since the early games of the match to claim the next game and bring the match to 5-4. The Cats remained one step ahead at 6-5 when the doubles point was clinched, the match was left unfinished.
In singles action, Takeda was first to finish on court four. The freshman from Osoka, Japan earned his third singles victory in a match against El Sherbini. Taked edged El Sherbini in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
On court two, Andre Vidaller was next to finish. Vidaller and Manner fought a close first set but Vidaller came out victorious, 6-3. In the second set, Vidaller dominated the competition, winning 6-0.
Thompson was third to finish in his match against Norstrom on court three. The junior from Brisbane, Australia easily won the first set, 6-2. Norstrom fought back in the second set but Thompson was able to secure the win, 6-4. The win marked the fourth point for the Wildcats and clinched the match in their favor.
On court five, Shinde was next to finish as he played Samuel Bloore. The two fought a close first set but Shinde, a sophomore from Pune, India, came out with a 6-4 win. In the second set, Shinde dominated edging Bloore, 6-1.
Urquidi and Hunt fought a back and forth battle on court six. Urquidi clinched a close first set, 7-5, but dropped the second set 6-4. With the match clinched the court entered a super-tiebreaker. Urquidi, a junior from El Paso, Texas, walked away with a win as he clinched the tiebreaker, 10-6.
Ask was last to finish as he battled Kiuru on court one. The junior from Oslo, Norway dropped a close first set, 6-4, but came back to win a tight second set, 7-5. The match entered a super-tiebreaker and the two fought another close battle. Ask claimed the tiebreaker 10-8 to complete the day with a perfect sweep for the Wildcats.
With the win Arizona improves to 4-0 while St. Mary's falls to 2-2.
The Cats and Gaels will be back in action on Saturday at LaNelle Robson Tennis Center. The teams will face off for the second time this weekend at 9 a.m.
Complete Results
Arizona, 7 def. St. Mary's, 0
LaNelle Robson Tennis Center
Feb. 1, 2013
Doubles:
1. Ask/Takeda (UA) def. Norstrom/Kiuru (SMC), 6-5 DNF
2. Thompson/Shinde (UA) def. Manner/Markiewicz, (SMC) 8-4
3. Urquidi/Miccini (UA) def. El Sherbini/Hunt (SMCU, 8-5
Order of finish: 3,2*,1
*Clinch doubles point
Singles:
1. Fredrik Ask (UA) def. Jess Kiuru (SMC), 4-6, 7-5, 10-8
2. Andre Vidaller (UA) def. Tuomas Manner (SMC), 6-3, 6-0
3. Kieren Thompson (UA) def. Joakim Norstrom (SMC), 6-2, 6-4
4. Naoki Takeda (UA) def. Sief El Sherbini (SMC), 6-3, 6-2
5. Sumeet Shinde (UA) def. Samuel Bloore (SMC), 6-4, 6-1
6. Mario Urquidi (UA) def. Thomas Alexander Hunt (SMC), 7-5, 4-6, 10-6
Order of finish: 4,2,3*,5,6,1
*Clinch match
