WACO, Texas- No. 15 Arizona Men's Tennis (16-4 overall, 1-2 Big 12) secured their first conference victory over No.17 Baylor, 4-1, Sunday afternoon in Waco.
Coming off a loss Friday against No. 2 TCU, Arizona looked to end their five-match road streak with a win on Sunday.
The Cats gained an early lead after taking the doubles point against the Bears with wins on courts one and two. Finishing first was a huge battle on one where No. 64 Inaki Cabrera-Bello and
Colton Smith held off No. 17 Oskar Brostrom Poulsen and Marko Miladinovic for a 7-5 win. Clinching the doubles point was No. 33
Jay Friend and
Eric Padgham who won in even grittier fashion, battling No. 80 Devin Badenhorst and Luc Koenig to a 7-6(4) tie-break win.
In singles play, first to finish was senior Wildcat
Casper Christensen on court six, giving up just one game for a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Koenig. Arizona dropped a match on court two, setting the score at 2-1. Next up was junior captain and 8-ranked
Jay Friend winning 6-3, 6-4 over No. 101 Brostrom Poulsen. The match-clincher was sophomore standout
Alexander Rozin on court five with a 6-0, 6-4 win against Louis Bowden.
The Cats are set to return to Tucson for their next four conference matches, with the homestand beginning Friday, March 28, against Oklahoma State.