CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas.--- The Wildcats were able to rally and competed right down to the very end, but couldn't quite get by Southern Miss, as they fell 4-2, Saturday morning in Corpus Christi.
The Golden Eagles (9-4) struck first, as Tarun Surat defeated No. 100 Sumeet Shinde (7-5, 7-5 Dual) 6-3, 6-1 on court two to take a 1-0 lead, but Arizona (6-9) would quickly draw even, as No. 29 Naoki Takeda (19-4, 11-1 Dual) got back on track, earning a convincing 6-1, 6-3 win from the No. 1 spot.
Southern Miss then put together back-to-back victories on courts six and three, as Brad Marriott defeated Shoki Kasahara (13-14, 6-8 Dual) 6-1, 7-5 and Chao-Yu Huang just outlasted David Mushayev (8-11, 6-6 Dual) in a tough three-set affair, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.
However, the Cats would jump back in it, cutting the deficit to just 3-2, as Will Kneale (1-1, 1-1 Dual) picked up his first victory of the season, as he notched an impressive 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 come-from-behind win over Daniel Merker on court five.
Then it was Jason Jaruvang (12-1, 6-7 Dual) who nearly completed the comeback for UA to force doubles play, but Mikhail Esipov eventually rallied to grind out a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win to clinch the match for Southern Miss.
The Wildcats will get back after it on March 18, as they'll take on Navy at 1 pm MST up in Fresno, Calif. in match four of their season-long 11-match road swing.
Southern Miss 4, Arizona 2
Singles
1. #29 Naoki Takeda (ARIZM) def. Wen-Po Tseng (USMM) 6-1, 6-3
2. Tarun Surat (USMM) def. #100 Sumeet Shinde (ARIZM) 6-3, 6-1
3. Chao-Yu Huang (USMM) def. David Mushayev (ARIZM) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
4. Mikhail Esipov (USMM) def. Jason Jaruvang (ARIZM) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
5. Will Kneale (ARIZM) def. Daniel Merker (USMM) 3-6, 6-4, 6-0
6. Brad Marriott (USMM) def. Shoki Kasahara (ARIZM) 6-1, 7-5
*Order of Finish (2,1,6,3,5,4*)
*Clinching point
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