TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Arizona Wildcats continued their solid play with a ­­­5-2 win over New Mexico State on Saturday.
 
The Cats jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a strong doubles performance. The freshman pairing of Igor Karpovets and Aaro Pollanen defeated Cristofer Goncalves and Sergi Espias 6-2 on court one. The other Arizona freshman pairing of Carlos Hassey and Filip Malbasic clinched the doubles point with their 6-3 win against Stijn de Haan and Mauri Benitez.
 
Singles play began with Karpovets dominating court one, defeating Christofer Goncalves 6-3, 6-0. Reguant had no problems making it 3-0 Cats, beating Enrique Asmar by a score of 6-2, 6-1. The Wildcats' 15th win of the season was clinched by senior Trent Botha, who beat Mauri Benitez 6-4, 6-2 on court five. Pollanen added a fifth point with his comeback victory against de Haan.
 
"We've been focusing a lot on doubles, and I thought it was a little better," said head coach Clancy Shields. "On court one and two I thought we came out a little crisper and sharper. I was really impressed with Igor. He came in really mature mentally, played a really good player, and won convincingly. Trent stepped up, that was good for him. He hasn't had a win in a month even though he's been putting himself in position. They're a good team. They're the top team in their conference, and they beat a top 50 team last week. We knew they were dangerous, and we're happy to come out of here with a win. We just have to get better each time, and now we're in Pac-12 play the rest of the way, so we've got our hands full."
 
The Wildcats travel to Utah to take on the Utes this Friday.
 
Results
Singles
Igor Karpovets (ARIZ) def. Christofer Goncalves (NMSU) 6-3, 6-0
Aaro Pollanen (ARIZ) def. Stijn de Haan (NMSU) 4-6, 6-4, 10-8
Sergi Espias (NMSU) def. Filip Malbasic (ARIZ) 3-6, 7-6(5), 10-8
Alejandro Reguant (ARIZ) def. Enrique Asmar (NMSU) 6-2, 6-1
Trent Botha (ARIZ) def. Mauri Benitez (NMSU) 6-4, 6-2
Louis Menard (NMSU) def. Shoti Meparidze (ARIZ) 6-4, 6-3
Order: 1,4,5,6,2,3
 
Doubles
Igor Karpovets/Aaro Pollanen (ARIZ) def. Christofer Goncalves/Sergi Espias (NMSU) 6-2
Carlos Hassey/Filip Malbasic (ARIZ) def. Stijn de Haan/Mauri Benitez (NMSU) 6-3
Jonas Maier/Alejandro Reguant (ARIZ) vs. Enrique Asmar/Louis Menard (NMSU) 4-5, unf.
Order: 1,2

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