This Weekend: 18th-ranked Arizona (9-10, 3-4 in Pac-10) will turn its
attention to in-state rival Arizona State (11-7, 3-4 in Pac-10) for the
teams' final regular season match on Saturday.
The Wildcats and Sun Devils are both in the midst of two-match losing skids
having been swept by sixth-ranked California and top-ranked Stanford last
weekend, landing them in a tie for fifth place.
Ninth-ranked ASU is led by sophomore Allison Bradshaw who, in the No. 1
singles position, has logged six victories, earning her a No. 15 ranking.
Playing in the second position, junior Karin Palme has recorded 18
victories placing her at 36th in the poll. Freshman Megan Yeats rounds out
the ranked singles players for the Sun Devils at No. 60 as she boasts a
team-high 23 wins. On the doubles side, Bradshaw and teammate junior Celena
McCoury lead all Sun Devil duos with a No. 23 ranking. Highlighting their
season is a team-leading 13 wins including an 8-4 victory over Arizona's
pair of junior Michelle Gough and sophomore Lindsay Blau in the teams'
previous meeting this year. Bradshaw and McCoury share the team lead in
wins with the duo of freshman Megan Yeats and freshman Mhairi Brown who
are 44th in the latest polls.
In their first meeting this year, Arizona State cruised to a 9-0 victory
over the Wildcats without dropping a set in the process.
The Wildcats are 8-10 against ranked opponents this year.
The Lineup:
Name Yr. Hometown
Uzma Kahn Fr. Hyderabad, India
Lindsay Blau So. Ossining, New York
Michelle Gough Jr. Johannesburg, South Africa
Vanessa Abel Sr. Tucson, Arizona
Laresa Marino So. San Diego, California
Joanna Buczkowska Jr. Zakopane, Poland
Brooke Taylor So. Newport Beach, California
Siri Fomsgaard Fr. Copenhagen, Denmark
Last Weekend: The Wildcats dropped its two matches up in the Bay Area to
top-ranked Stanford, 7-1, and sixth-ranked California, 8-0. UA freshman
Uzma Khan posted an upset victory over Stanford's 74th-ranked Gabriela
Lastra, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, accounting for Arizona's lone point on the weekend.
Saturday's lopsided score against California did not indicate how close the
match really was. Five of the singles matches went a full three sets and
in the top doubles spot, Arizona sophomore Lindsay Blau and junior Michelle
Gough were outlasted by Cal's sixth-ranked team of Karoline Borgersen and
Anita Kurimay, 8-6.
Last Season: Arizona finished the season with an overall record of 8-14
placing them sixth in the Pac-10 Conference. The Wildcats advanced to the
second round of the NCAA Tournament before being eliminated by top-ranked
Florida.
Cats in the Polls: The Wildcats moved up two spots to No. 18 in the April
12 edition of the WingspanBank.com rankings. UA jumped to 17th in the
April 11 edition of Bob Larsen Coaches Poll. The fifth individual singles
and doubles rankings of the season were released April 12, and sophomore
Lindsay Blau earned her first ranking of the season (No. 73) after an upset win over
Texas' 29th-ranked Janet Walker, 7-5, 6-2 Blau and doubles partner, junior
Michelle Gough, dropped six spots to No. 10 with their 23-9 record. The
Region VIII fall doubles title and runner-up at the Indoor Championships
highlight their year. Gough and Blau are 4-2 against top 25 opponents this
year. Uzma Khan fell to the 88th spot for her 16-12 record after rising to
as high as 49th. An upset win over then top-ranked Zuzana Lesenarova in
straight sets, 6-3, 7-5, highlights her season to date. Gough fell out of
the singles poll after entering the rankings at 91st in the Fe. 16. The
12th team rankings of the year will be released April 19. The sixth
installment of the singles and doubles rankings will be available April 26.
For a complete list of rankings, visit the ITA website at www.ITAtennis.com
Head Coach: Brad Dancer is in his first year as head coach at Arizona
replacing Stephanie London. Dancer played No. 1 singles and doubles at
Michigan State, graduating with a degree in
business in 1993. In his time at Michigan State, Dancer was a four-time
Academic All-Big Ten member and was selected to the All-Big Ten team his
senior year. Dancer's professional coaching highlights include serving as
an assistant for the 1996 Fed Cup team.
Assistant Coach: Kevin Epley comes to Arizona after serving as an assistant
last year at Alabama. In addition to his duties at Arizona, Epley is
involved in coaching at the professional tennis level including serving as
an assistant for the Fed Cup team under head coach Billie Jean King.
Maes joins C.A.T.S. staff: Volunteer Assistant Vicky Maes stepped down as
volunteer assistant tennis coach this past week. The move was prompted by
her hiring in the C.A.T.S. office. Maes, a four-time tennis All-American,
graduated from Arizona in 98 but not before becoming the most decorated
player in the program's history. Maes was a two-time Pac-10 Player of the
Year, a GTE All-American, and was selected to the Pac-10 All-Decade team.
