MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Day one of the Blue Gray Classic started in strong fashion for the Arizona Wildcats, as they swept #3-seeded Princeton 4-0 in the first round. The Wildcats are currently trailing Alabama 1-0 in the semifinals, and will resume play tomorrow morning.
 
After struggling with doubles early in the season, the Cats won their third doubles session in a row. Alejandro Reguant and Jonas Maier continued their strong play, beating the Princeton duo of Kial Kaiser and Diego Vives by a score of 6-1. The freshman pairing of Carlos Hassey and Igor Karpovets sealed the doubles point in a tiebreak on court 1 against Princeton's Damian Rodriguez and Luke Gamble.
 
The Wildcats wasted no time getting three more points in singles. Freshman Filip Malbasic started things off with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Diego Vives. Fellow freshman Aaro Pollanen followed up with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Damian Rodriguez. Junior Jonas Maier clinched the victory in a 6-4, 7-6(4) win against Luke Gamble.
 
"Our guys came out inspired against a good Princeton squad," said head coach Clancy Shields. "I was really happy with our fight and competitiveness. Our four freshmen came up big today with Carlos and Igor clinching the doubles, and Aaro and Filip getting us off to a great start in singles."
 
The day ended with doubles play against Alabama. The Cats dropped the first two matches, each by a score of 6-3, giving the Crimson Tide the 1-0 lead. The singles portion of the semifinal match will begin at 9:00 a.m. MST on Saturday.
 
The tournament draw can be found HERE.
 
Results
Doubles vs. Princeton
1. Karpovets, Igor/Hassey, Carlos (ARIZ) def. Rodriguez, Damian/Gamble, Luke (PRIN) 7-6 (7-4)
2. Seggerman, Ryan/Holden, Payton (PRIN) def. Botha, Trent/Malbasic, Filip (ARIZ) 6-1
3. Reguant, Alejandro/Maier, Jonas (ARIZ) def. Kaiser, Kial/Vives, Diego (PRIN) 6-1
 
Singles vs. Princeton
1. Kaiser, Kial (PRIN) vs. Botha, Trent (ARIZ) 6-2, 6-6(5-3), unfinished
2. Seggerman, Ryan (PRIN) vs. Karpovets, Igor (ARIZ) 4-6, 6-3, 1-4, unfinished
3. Pollanen, Aaro (ARIZ) def. Rodriguez, Damian (PRIN) 6-4, 6-2
4. Maier, Jonas (ARIZ) def. Gamble, Luke (PRIN) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
5. Malbasic, Filip (ARIZ) def. Vives, Diego (PRIN) 6-1, 6-1
6. Roberts, Davey (PRIN) vs. Reguant, Alejandro (ARIZ) 7-5, 4-5, unfinished
 
Doubles vs. Alabama
1. Ortiz/Osama (ALA) def. Karpovets/Hassey (ARIZ) 6-3
2. Cancel/Nesterov (ALA) def. Pollanen/Malbasic (ARIZ) 6-3
3. Reguant/Maier (ARIZ) vs. Kaukovalta/Zhou (ALA) 5-4, unfinished
 
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