TUCSON, Ariz. - After sustaining a narrow 4-3 loss to LSU on Saturday afternoon, the Arizona men's tennis team bounced back in impressive fashion Sunday, defeating No. 21 Florida State for the second time this week.
The Wildcats did not qualify for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, as the winner of LSU and Pepperdine on Sunday afternoon will advance from the four-team bracket.
#16 Arizona vs. LSU (Saturday, Jan. 24)
Arizona opened competition for ITA Kickoff Weekend against LSU on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats fell behind early, as LSU won the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead. Arizona battled back in singles, as Jay Friend secured a victory over Olaf Pieczkowski on court 1 (7-5, 6-1).Â
Alexander Rozin and Alejandro Arcila also picked up victories in their respective singles matches. Playing on court three, Rozin secured the victory over Enzo Kohlmann in two sets, winning 6-3, 6-4. Arcila defeated Matias Ponce De Leon on court five, winning the first set 6-1, before winning the second set in a tiebreaker 6-6 (7-4).Â
LSU won the other three singles matches, two of which went three sets, as Arizona narrowly lost to the Tigers.Â
#16 Arizona vs. #21 Florida State (Sunday, Jan. 25)
The Wildcats matched up against Florida State in the consolation match on Sunday morning, marking the second time this week that Arizona has faced FSU, after picking up a 4-1 victory over the Seminoles on Wednesday.
The Wildcats dominated the doubles matches, as Zoran Ludoski and Rozin earned a 6-1 victory over Mohammed Alkotop and Azariah Rusher, while Friend and Arcila won 6-2 against Oren Ezerzer and Jan Sebesta.
In singles play, Friend started things off by earning a win over Corey Craig on court one, 6-2, 6-4. Ludoski and Arcila also won their single matches in straight sets to secure the win for Arizona, as Ludoski defeated #43 Azariah Rusher on court four, 6-3, 7-5, and Arcila beat Gabriele Brancatelli on court six, 6-3, 6-2.
Arizona owns an overall record of 4-2 following ITA Kickoff Weekend, and the Wildcats will return to action on Friday, Jan. 30 when they will travel to Malibu, California to face #22 Pepperdine at 4:00 p.m. (MST).
