TUCSON, Ariz.--- Junior Naoki Takeda pulled off one of the largest upsets of the college tennis season thus far, as he took down No. 5 Dominik Koepfer, 6-2, 6-0, but it wasn't quite enough, as the Wildcats fell to No. 51 Tulane 4-2, Tuesday out at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center.
Takeda's victory today marks the highest ranked win of his career, while it also goes down as the highest recorded individual victory by any Wildcat this season. The junior is now 17-3 overall and a perfect 9-0 during dual play. He's also ranked No. 58 in the country and has won 10 consecutive singles matches going back to the fall.
Tulane (9-1) got off to a strong start in this one, as it earned hard-fought 7-5 and 6-1 victories on courts two and one respectively to clinch the doubles point. Shoki Kasahara and Matt Dunn were tied at 6-6 with Alex Van Cott and Ian Van Cott on court three before play was stopped.
The Green Wave kept the pressure coming in singles play, taking victories on courts three and five to spot it a 3-0 lead.
But No. 75 Arizona (5-7) showed resiliency and fought back.
The Wildcats' rally began with No. 58 Takeda's historic victory on court one, as he improved to 7-0 from the No. 1 spot so far this spring.
Freshman Shoki Kasahara (13-11, 6-5 Dual) then made things really interesting for UA, as he earned a convincing 7-6, 6-1 victory over Ian Van Cott to cut the Cats' deficit down to just 3-2.
Unfortunately, Tulane clinched the match with a win on court two, bringing the final to 4-2.
Tuesday's match marked Arizona's first contest as a ranked team since April 5, 2013.
The Wildcats will look to get back on the right track, as they'll head to Corpus Christi, Texas to compete in the HEB Invitational on March 6-7th.
No. 53 Tulane (9-1) 4, No. 75 Arizona (5-7) 2
SINGLES
1. #58 Naoki Takeda (UA) def. #5 Dominik Koepfer (TUL) 6-2, 6-0
2. Alex Van Cott (TUL) def. #74 Sumeet Shinde (UA) 7-6, 6-2
3. Constantin Schmiltz (TUL) def. Jason Jaruvang (UA) 6-2, 6-2
4. David Mushayev (UA) vs. Sebastian Rey (TUL) 6-7, 3-4, unfinished
5. Chi-Shan Jao (TUL) def. Robin Chou (UA) 6-2, 6-0
6. Shoki Kasahara (UA) def. Ian Van Cott (TUL) 7-6, 6-1
Order of Finish: 3,5,1,6,2*
*Clinching point
DOUBLES
1. Dominik Koepfer/Chi-Shan Jao (TUL) def. Sumeet Shinde/Naoki Takeda (UA) 7-5
2. Constantin Schmiltz/Sebastian Rey (TUL) def. Jason Jaruvang/David Mushayev (UA) 6-1
3. Shoki Kasahara/Matt Dunn (UA) vs. Alex Van Cott/Ian Van Cott (TUL) 6-6, unfinished
Order of Finish: 2,1
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