WACO, Texas. - Arizona's Colton Smith and Jay Friend have concluded their time at the NCAA Singles Championships Friday morning. 

Both Wildcats had incredible runs and faced great challenges in the tournament. For Smith, as a senior, he returns from his second and final NCAA Singles Championships with two wins and All-America honors. Friend returns from his second appearance at the championships with three wins and All-America honors. As a junior, Friend has one more opportunity, next fall, to make a run at the title. 

The tournament marks the last before the start of the spring season in January. 

Friday, Quarterfinal Round 
Facing off against ITA's #1 Baris, Friend began play Friday morning. The Wildcat fell 1-6 in a challenging first set. In the second set, Friend was able to gain an early 3-0 lead, though he struggled to maintain the hold. Rising to 5-2, Friend dropped the next three games to put the score at 5-5. Baris was able to pull ahead in the next two games and win the set 7-5, knocking Friend out of the tournament. 

Thursday, Round of 16
Smith kicked off play for the Cats Thursday morning in the sweet 16. Facing off against Legout, Smith had a challenging first set, where he fell 3-6. The second set was a closer battle, with the players rising to 6-6 and forcing a tiebreaker to determine the fate of the match. Smith won four games in the breaker before losing the match 3-6, 6(4)-7 to Legout. 

Playing on the same court Smith just finished on, Friend began his battle against familiar foe Mitsui Friend won the first set against Mitsui 7-5, and the second set 6-4, securing a spot in the quarterfinal, elite eight round of the championships. 

In the quarterfinal round, Friend is set to face off against #1 Ozan Baris of Michigan State Friday morning at 9 a.m. MST. 

Wednesday, Round of 32
Wednesday's matches proved to be a tougher feat for the Wildcats. Starting at the same time, and playing side by side, both players entered three-set battles on the court. On court three, Smith fell in 4-6 in his first against #72 Aristotelis Thanos (Michigan State). In the second set, Smith and Thanos battled up to 4-4, before Colton pulled ahead and forced a third. The third set played out in a similar fashion, with the two going rising 4-4 before Smith won the match 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. 

One court over, Friend struggled through his first set against SMU's #17 Trevor Svajda, trailing 1-4 early on, and falling 3-6. The roles reversed in the second set, with Friend gaining a 4-1 hold, giving up just two more games and winning the set 6-3. Friend kept his intensity high in the third set, matching that of Svajda, and took the set to win the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. 

Advancing to the round of 16 automatically gained both Wildcats ITA All-America honors- it is the second honors for Smith, and the first for Friend.

In the next round, Friend is set to go against familiar foe #10 Shunsuke Mitsui [9-16] of Tennessee. The last time the opponents met on the court was in the consolation round of 16 at ITA All-Americans, where Friend defeated Mitsui 7-5, 6-1. Smith is set to face Timo Legout [9-16] of Texas. 

Tuesday, Round of 64
Fifth seed Friend kicked off play for the Cats Tuesday afternoon against Martin Katz of Miami. Friend and Katz began the first set in a game-for-game race, with each player looking to get a hold over the other. After going 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, Friend got the advantage in the sixth game and won the set with the seventh 7-5. In the second set, Katz gained an early 3-0 lead over the Wildcat, giving him a significant hold. Down three games, Friend won the next six to take the set 6-3, winning the match and securing his spot in Wednesday's second round. 

Third seed Smith began his first match of the week against Youssef Kadiri of Nevada. Smith had an early 2-0 advantage in set one, holding off Kadiri until he won the first set 6-4. In set two, Smith went on a three point run in the second set, putting him at 4-2, he gave up just one more point to Kadiri before winning the set 6-3 and advancing to round two.