BOISE, ID--- Just a day after suffering one of their toughest defeats of the season, the Wildcats responded by claiming arguably their most dramatic victory of the year, as freshman Shoki Kasahara rallied to take down Axel Damiens, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 on court six to clinch a 4-3 win over No. 65 Cal Poly, Sunday afternoon out at the Appleton Tennis Center in Boise, Idaho.
For Arizona (8-11) the win marked its third ranked victory of the season, while the Cats have now taken part in three straight one-point matches.
“This match shows a lot about our character as a team,” said head coach Tad Berkowitz. “Every match we've lost this year has been very close. Our guys just keep fighting and I give them a lot of credit.”
UA fell behind early, as Cal Poly (9-7) captured the doubles point, earning victories on courts one and two to take a 1-0 lead.
But this one was far from over, as Naoki Takeda (22-5, 14-2 Dual) cruised by Ben Donovan 6-2, 6-0 on court one to equalize things at 1-1.
The Cats then took their first lead of the afternoon, after Jason Jaruvang (15-12, 9-8 Dual) collected a straight-set 6-1, 7-6 win over Naveen Beasley on court four to go up 2-1.
The Mustangs battled back to tie the match up at 2-2, as Garrett Auproux took down Sumeet Shinde (8-8, 8-8 Dual) 7-6, 6-3 on court two, but David Mushayev (9-13, 7-8 Dual) quickly put Arizona back in front, as he defeated Corey Pang 6-3, 6-4 from the No.3 spot.
However, the Mustangs charged back one more time, tying things up at 3-3, after Lucas Lesoeur defeated Will Kneale (2-4, 2-4 Dual) 6-0, 7-6 on court five.
But freshman Shoki Kasahara (16-15, 9-9 Dual) turned out to be the hero of the day, as he grinded out a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 come-from-behind victory from the No. 6 position to clinch the dramatic 4-3 win for Arizona.
The Wildcats will continue their season-long 11-match road trip when they head up to Berkeley to take on California, Friday at 3 pm PT in in their Pac-12 opener.
Arizona 4 (8-11), #65 Cal Poly 3 (9-7)
Singles
1. #45 Naoki Takeda (ARIZM) def. Ben Donovan (CP) 6-2, 6-0
2. Garrett Auproux (CP) def. Sumeet Shinde (ARIZM) 7-6, 6-3
3. David Mushayev (ARIZM) def. Corey Pang (CP) 6-3, 6-4
4. Jason Jaruvang (ARIZM) def. Naveen Beasley (CP) 6-1, 7-6
5. Lucas Lesoeur (CP) def. Will Kneale (ARIZM) 6-0, 7-6
6. Shoki Kasahara (ARIZM) def. Axel Damiens (CP) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Order of Finish: 1,4,2,3,5,6*
*Clinching point
Doubles
1. Ben Donovan/Corey Pang (CP) def. Naoki Takeda/Sumeet Shinde (ARIZM) 6-0
2. Garrett Auproux/Devin Barber (CP) def. Shoki Kasahara/David Mushayev (ARIZM) 6-2
3. Matt Dunn/Jason Jaruvang (ARIZM) vs. Lucas Lesoeur/Karl Enander (CP) 3-5, unfinished
Order of Finish: 1,2
