March 29, 2013
TUCSON -
The Arizona Wildcat men's tennis team opened Pac-12 play on Friday against the Washington Huskies. The Cats and Dawgs fought a close match but Washington came out on top of the 4-3 decision. The match marked the first in Pac-12 play for both teams.
The day began with doubles play where the Cats dropped matches on courts two and three and the point went to Washington. Finishing first was the team of Kieren Thompson and Naoki Takeda on court three. The Arizona duo fought to tie Max Manthou and Hudson Barnhart at one, two, three and four games before the Dawgs claimed four straight to clinch the match, 8-4.
On court one, Fredrik Ask and Sumeet Shinde finished up next in their match against Kyle McMorrow and Marton Bots. Ask and Shinde took the early lead before McMorrow and Bots fought back to tie it at two. The Cats reclaimed the lead at 3-2 but McMorrow and Bots tied it once again. Ask and Shinde then began to pull away as they clinched three straight before McMorrow and Bots claimed another win. Ask and Shinde earned the next game but McMorrow and Bots fought back to clinch another win. The win would mark the last for McMorrow and Bots as Ask and Shinde clinched the next game and the match, 8-5.
With the doubles point still up for grabs, court two remained locked in a close battle. Juniors Giacomo Miccini and Mario Urquidi fell behind 1-0 to Jeff Hawke and Emmett Egger but quickly fought back to tie it at one. The teams continued to tie at two, three, four, five, six, seven and finally eight games before a tiebreaker began. Hawke and Egger clinched the first point but Miccini and Urquidi battled back to clinch the next to and take the 2-1 lead. Hawke and Egger claimed three straight to pull ahead of the Cats, 4-2. The Arizona duo earned the next point but it would be their last as Hawke and Egger clinched three straight to win the match, 9-8(3). With the loss the doubles point went to the Dawgs.
Singles play started out slowly for the Cats, as the first two finishes ended in favor of Washington, but play quickly picked up and the Cats fought back to tie the match at three.
Finishing first was Miccini on court one. The junior from Recanati, Italy clinched the first game but McMorrow fought back to tie it at one. The two continued to fight a close battle but Miccini remained one game ahead. McMorrow clinched a win to come within one of Miccini, at 4-3, but it would be his last as Miccini claimed the next two games and the first set, 6-3. In the second set, Miccini fell behind 1-0 but battled back to tie it at one, the win would mark his last in the set as he fell, 6-1. The court entered a third set where once again Miccini was only able to secure one win as he fell, 6-1.
On court two, Ask wrapped up next in his match against Bots. Ask fell behind 3-0 in the first set before coming back to tie it at three. Ask, a junior from Oslo, Norway, earned the next game before Bots secured two in a row. Ask clinched two more games to take the 6-5 lead but Bots fought back to tie it at six. The court entered a tiebreaker where Ask fell, 7-4, and the set went to Bots, 7-6(4). In the second set, Ask claimed the first game but Bots earned the next two to take the 2-1 lead. The two traded wins to bring the set to 4-3 in favor of Bots before Bots clinched two straight to win the set, 6-3.
Finishing third was Urquidi on court five. The junior from El Paso, Texas claimed the first two games before Farkas earned a win. Urquidi clinched two more to bring the set to 4-1 before Farkas claimed another win. The two traded wins to bring the set to 5-3 before Urquidi clinched the set, 6-3. In the second set, Urquidi and Farkas tied and one and two games before Farkas claimed four straght to earn the set, 6-2. The court entered a third set where Urquidi got out t a 5-1 lead before Farkas fought back to come within one game. The two traded wins to bring the set to 5-4 before Urquidi clinched the set, 6-4. The win marked the first point of the day for the Wildcats and momentum continued their way.
On court three, Thompson was next to finish in his match against Manthou. The two fought a close first set as Thompson, a junior from Brisbane, Australia, remained one game ahead at 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, and 4-3 before pulling head 5-3. Manthou claimed two straight to tie the set at five but Thompson fought back to earn the next two and clinch the set, 7-5. In the second set, Thompson claimed the first game but Manthou fought back to earn the next two. The wins would mark his last as Thompson claimed five straight to clinch the set, 6-2.
Next to finish was Shinde on court four. The sophomore from Pune, India fell behind 4-0 against Egger before claiming two straight. Egger bounced back to clinch the next two and win the set, 6-2. In the second set, Shinde once again fell behind but bounced back to tie it at two. Egger would secure one more win before Shinde clinched the set, 6-3. The court entered a third set where Shinde battled back to tie it at three before clinching three straight to win the set, 6-3. The win marked the third for the Wildcats and tied the overall match at three.
With the match undecided, Takeda and Hawke remained locked in a back and forth battle on court six. Takeda started out strong, claiming the 3-1 lead before Nicholas Kamisar clinched two straight to tie the set at three. Kamisar earned two more games to take the 5-3 lead before Takeda secured another win. Kamisar clinched the next game to win the set, 6-3. In the second set, Takeda, a freshman from Osoka, Japan, took the early 2-0 lead before Kamisar fought back to win five straight. Takeda bounced back to tie the set at five and clinched another game to take the 6-5 lead. He clinched one more game to earn the set, 7-5, and force a third set. Takeda claimed the first game but Kamisar came back to win the next. Takeda answered with the next win to reclaim the lead but Kamisar tied it once again as Takeda paused for an injury, holding his ankle. Takeda fought through the pain and taking the 3-2 lead, Takeda earned the next game but Kamisar fought back to tie the set at three. Takeda once again reclaimed the lead at 4-3 but it would mark his last as Kamisar earned three straight to clinch the set, 6-4. The loss marked the fourth point for the Huskies and clinched the match in their favor.
With the loss, Arizona falls to 10-7 overall and 0-1 in Pac-12 play while Washington improves to 14-6 and 1-0 in Pac-12 play.
The Cats will be back in action on Sunday as they host the Oregon Ducks. The teams are set to face off at 11:00 a.m. at LaNelle Robson Tennis Center.
Complete Results
No. 29 Washington, 4 def. No. 64 Arizona, 3
LaNelle Robson Tennis Center
March 29, 2013
Doubles:
1. Ask/Shinde (UA) def. McMorrow/Bots (UW), 8-5
2. Hawke/Egger (UW) def. Micini/Urquidi (UA), 9-8 (3)
3. Manthou/Bardhart (UW) def. Thompson/Takeda (UA), 8-4
Order of finish: 3,1,2*
*Clinch Doubles Point
Singles:
1. Kyle McMorrow (UW) def. Giacomo Miccini (UA), 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
2. Marton Bots (UW) def. Fredrik Ask (UA), 7-6(4), 6-3
3. Kieren Thompson (UA) def. Max Manthou (UW), 7-5, 6-2
4. Sumeet Shinde (UA) def. Emmett Egger (UW), 7-5, 6-2
5. Mario Urquidi (UA) def. Viktor Farkas (UW), 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
6. Nicholas Kamisar (UW) def. Naoki Takeda (UA), 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 5, 3, 4, 6*
*Clinch Match
