MARICOPA, Ariz. – Chasing daylight on a 36-hole day, No. 19 Arizona Men's Golf defeated No. 4 Arizona State in match play on the first day of the Copper Cup, presented by the Goldberg Family Foundation. The Wildcats' winning score of 6.5 points to 5.5 points came down to the final pairing on course as Arizona will now face UCLA in Monday's championship match at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club.

"I am incredibly proud of how all eight of our guys persevered, battled and competed through a long day out on the course," said head coach Jim Anderson. "Each one of our guys experienced ups and downs, but they didn't let affect their confidence. The mindset was to stick to our gameplan and attack each hole with every shot we hit. Now we look to carry that momentum with us to the championship round of match play against UCLA on Monday."

After the Sun Devils took a one-point advantage into the afternoon singles competition from the morning round, the Wildcats won the first four matches of the afternoon before a three-match counter by Arizona State. Arizona's winning point came from the final group as Filip defeated Preston Summerhays 2 & 1 just as play was called due to darkness.

The schedule will repeat for Monday's championship run with morning alternate shot foursomes, which account for a total of four points. The afternoon will be singles match play for eight total points.

MONDAY'S CHAMPIONSHIP SINGLES PAIRINGS
Griffin Rhoads (UA) vs. Alvaro Muller (UCLA)
Zach Pollo (UA) vs. Alex Papayoanou (UCLA)
Johnny Walker (UA) vs. Pabloe Ereno (UCLA)
Yannick Malik (UA) vs. Luciano Conlan (UCLA)
Tiyani Xiong (UA) vs. Kyle An (UCLA)
Filip Jakubcik (UA) vs. Luke Powell (UCLA)
Jackson Norwich (UA) vs. Matthew Yamlin (UCLA)
Sam Sommerhauser (UA) vs. Andy Yoon (UCLA)
 
FINAL AFTERNOON RESULTS
Griffin Rhoads (UA) def. Josele Ballester (ASU), 2 & 1
Johnny Walker (UA) def. Gabe Salvanera (ASU), 4 & 2
Zach Pollo (UA) def. Michael Mjaaseth (ASU), 3 & 2
Yannick Malik (UA) def. Wenyi Ding (ASU), 2 & 1
Nicholas Prieto (ASU) def. Jackson Norwich (UA), 4 & 3
Ryggs Johnston (ASU) def. Sam Summerhauser (UA), 5 & 4
Luke Potter (ASU) def. Tianyi Xiong (UA), 4 & 3
Filip Jakubcik (UA) def. Preston Summerhays (ASU), 2 & 1
 
MORNING ROUND: ARIZONA STATE WINS 2-1-1
The Copper Cup began with alternate shot, foursome action in a match play format. The Wildcats and Sun Devils began the first action of the day on the 10^th tee with all four matches playing out as back-and-forth affairs. By the time both teams made the turn, Arizona was 1-up in two matches, 2-up in one match with the fourth match being all square.

Arizona State went on two earn two points with a pair of victories in the morning. The Wildcat pairing of Sam Sommerhauser and Jackson Norwich won their point before Filip Jakubcik and Tianyi Xiong pushed in the final foursome match.