TUCSON, Ariz. – The 2018 season began in dominating fashion for the Wildcats, as they swept Arizona Christian 7-0 in their morning match.
 
Doubles matches started at 10 a.m. and the Wildcats got off to a hot start as senior Trent Botha and sophomore Andres Reyes defeated ACU senior Marcelo Balderrama and junior Alberto Lapiedra (6-2). The Arizona pairing of freshman Igor Karpovets and senior Shoti Meparidze followed up with a 6-2 victory of their own against ACU junior Enzo Douillac and freshman Theo Preiswerk to secure the doubles point.
 
Freshman newcomers Aaro Pollanen and Filip Malbasic saw their first competition as Wildcats and came up just short in a hard-fought doubles loss to ACU juniors Scott Wheeler and Daniel Suerlano (7-6).
 
The Wildcats dominated the singles session, winning all six matches without ever having to go to a third set. Pollanen and Malbasic each got their first career victories at Arizona, with Pollanen defeating Enzo 6-0, 6-4 and Malbasic defeating Wheeler 6-1, 6-3.
 
Karpovets only dropped one game in his 6-1, 6-0 victory over Lapiedra, earning his first career win outside of the fall season, and Botha only dropped two games in his 6-0, 6-2 victory over Superlano. Meparidze defeated Luka ACU senior Stanivukovic 6-2, 6-3 and Andres Reyes rounded out the perfect singles session with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Balderrama.

The afternoon match was a near replica of the morning one. The Cats started strong in doubles with the same pairings, but this time took all three matches, all by the score of 6-2.
 
"I was happy for our three freshmen to get their first wins, and to get out on the court and play in a competitive environment" head coach Clancy Shields said. "I think their level will be a lot higher on the weekend because of today, and they got a little bit of experience and got some of those jitters out."
 
Pollanen and Malbasic got their first career doubles victories against Ottawa junior Noel Maurin and freshman Austin Todd. The Botha/Reyes pairing earned their second victory of the day by defeating sophomore Leonardo Couto and junior Eric De Romas. Karpovets and Meparidze closed out doubles with a win over freshman Kim Donghyun and sophomore Peter Hariri.
 
Another singles sweep helped the Cats end the day with two 7-0 victories. Meparidze defeated Hariri without dropping a game, and Pollanen accomplished the same feat against Donghyun in their match.
 
Botha, Reyes, Karpovets, and Malbasic all recorded their second singles victories of the day to finish another perfect singles session.
 
The Wildcats will look to build off this strong performance as they travel to Norman to face off against the University of Oklahoma and Abilene Christian on Saturday.
 
"It's early, but I think this first weekend will be a good test to see where we're at as a team," said Shields.
 
Arizona begins weekend action against Oklahoma at 10 a.m. MST. 
 
Results
Singles vs. ACU
1. Karpovets (UA) def. Lapiedra (ACU) 6-1, 6-0
2. Pollanen (UA) def. Douillac (ACU) 6-0, 6-4
3. Malbasic (UA) def. Wheeler (ACU) 6-1, 6-3
4. Botha (UA) def. Superlano (ACU) 6-0, 6-2
5. Reyes (UA) def. Balderrama (ACU) 6-1, 6-2
6. Meparidze (UA) def. Stanivukovic (ACU) 6-2, 6-3
Order: 1,4,5,6,2,3
 
Doubles vs. ACU
1. Scott Wheeler/Daniel Superlano (ACU) def Aaro Pollanen/Filip Malbasic (UA) 7-6
2. Andres Reyes/Trent Botha (UA) def. Marcelo Balderrama/Alberto Lapiedra (ACU) 6-2
3. Igor Karpovets/Shoti Meparidze (UA) def. Enzo Douillac/Theo Preiswerk (ACU) 6-2
Order: 2,3,1
 
Singles vs. UOAZ
1. Karpovets (UA)def. L. Couto (UOAZ) 6-1, 6-0
2. Pollanen (UA) def. Donghyun (UOAZ) 6-0, 6-0
3. Malbasic (UA) def. De Romas (UOAZ) 6-1, 6-1
4. Botha (UA) def. Maurin (UOAZ) 6-0, 6-2
5. Reyes (UA) def. Todd (UOAZ) 6-2, 6-1
6. Meparidze (UA) def. Hariri (UOAZ) 6-0, 6-0
Order: 6,1,5,2,4,3
 
Doubles vs. UOAZ
1. Pollanen/Malbasic (UA) def. Maurin/Todd (UOAZ) 6-2
2. Botha/Reyes (UA) def. Couto/De Romas (UOAZ) 6-2
3. Karpovets/Meparidze (UA) def. Donghyun/Hariri (UOAZ) 6-2
Order: 2,1,3                
 
 
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