SAN DIEGO, Calif. –  The Arizona men's tennis team dropped a close match to Drake today during the second day of the  San Diego Classic, losing to the Bulldogs 4-3.
 
"We left it all on the court today," commented head coach Clancy Shields. "We definitely had plenty of opportunities to finish but lacked the killer instinct to close in the big moments. We will improve and learn from today. As we mature as a team we will be able to settle into these big moments and play with confidence and composure."
 
In doubles play, sophomore Will Adkisson and junior Shoti Meparidze defeated Drake juniors Ben Stride and Bayo Philips by a score of 6-4 on court one. Arizona couldn't build off this momentum however, as senior Oliver Plaskett and junior Trent Botha fell to Drake sophomores Vinny Gillespie and Tom Hands on court two not long before junior Shoki Kasahara and freshman Alejandro Reguant dropped a tie-breaker to Drake juniors Calim MacGeoch and Ben Wood on court three.
 
Arizona came out strong in singles competition despite losing the doubles point. Plaskett defeated Phillips on court six to tie things up not long before Kasahara gave Arizona a 2-1 lead with a victory over sophomore Ben Clark on court five.
 
Meparidze took 48th-ranked Gillespie to three sets on court one, but fell just short, bringing the score to 2-2. Reguant retook the lead for Arizona with a three set when over freshman Barny Thorold on court four. Despite being just one point away from victory, Arizona couldn't close out the match. MacGeoch and Hands both took tie-breaker victories over senior Will Kneale and Botha on courts two and three, capping off the comeback victory for Drake.
 
Arizona will compete against SDSU in their final match of the tournament tomorrow (Saturday, March 18th) at the Aztec Tennis Center at 2 p.m. MST.
 
"We're looking forward to playing SDSU, one of our hosts," said Shields. "We have built a lot of positive momentum this week, and we want to cap the weekend off the right way.
 
 
Arizona-3, Drake-4
Singles
1. #48 Vinny GIllespie (DU) def. Shoti Meparidze (UA) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
2. Calum MacGeoch (DU) def. Will Kneale (UA) 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5)
3. Tom Hands (DU) def. Trent Botha (UA) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (0)
4. Alejandro Reguant (UA) def. Barny Thorold (DU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
5. Shoki Kasahara (UA) def. Ben Clark (DU) 6-2, 6-3
6. Oliver Plaskett (UA) def. Bayo Philips 6-0, 6-2
Order: 6,5,1,4,3,2
 
Doubles
1. Meparidze/Adkisson (UA) def. Philips/Stride (DU) 6-4
2. Gillespie/Hands (DU) def. Plaskett/Botha (UA) 6-4
3. MacGeoch/Wood (DU) def. Reguant/Kasahara (UA) 7-6 (10)
Order: 1,2,3
 
 
Event Info:
Date/Time: Thursday March 16 (10 a.m.)-March 18
 
Location: USD's Skip and Cindy Hogan Tennis Center: 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110
SDSU's Aztec Tennis Center: Directions
 
Twitter Updates: @ArizonaMTennis
 
The Field: No.25 Oregon, SDSU, Iowa, Harvard, Drake, USD, No.30 Tulane
 
Who's Competing for the Wildcats
Will Kneale
Oliver Plaskett
Shoki Kasahara
Trent Botha
Shoti Meparidze
Will Adkisson
Alejandro Reguant  
 
 
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