Arizona men's tennis continues to make history rolling into Super Regional

No. 8-seeded Arizona defeated Clemson 4-2 Saturday at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center.

The Wildcats made quick work of the doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead.

In singles play, it was a rough start for UA as it fell behind a break early on three courts. However, senior Jay Friend got a break at 5-5 on Court 1, and that seemed to turn the tide for the team the rest of the way.

Friend gave credit to the crowd helping him get that break at 5-5 to turn around his match.

"When I was a freshman here playing in the NCAAs, obviously we had a crowd but nothing like the crowd that showed up today," he said. "It shows they want to watch good tennis and we're getting better and better.

"I'm so happy all these people showed up because it really got me through that first set, especially, and it really killed the other player's momentum."

Friend was first off singles play with a 7-5, 6-2 win to put Arizona ahead 2-0.

Clemson got on the board on Court 3, but Arizona quickly answered back with a 7-6, 6-0 win from sophomore Matthias Uwe Kask on Court 5.

Kask wasn't told he was going to play until right before the match due to an illness with sophomore Glib Sekachov. He was able to take the opportunity and run with it this weekend.

"(Kask) has been as consistent as anybody on our team," Arizona coach Clancy Shields said. "We've just had such good depth on our team, and he just hasn't had the opportunity. Everyone on our team knows how good he is.

"When one guy went down with a sickness, we just said next guy up. I'm just happy for him because all that work that he's been putting in, some people would check out in February when they're not playing. He doubled down and got better."

The Tigers got one more point back on Court 2 before it was sophomore Zoran Ludoski to send the Wildcats to the next round with a 7-5, 7-5 win on Court 4.

Ludoski fell behind an early break to go down 4-1 early in the first set. He was able to use what he has learned all season to quickly turn his match around.

"I didn't start the match very well but you know like always, coach is telling me to be positive all the time, fight and dive for every point," Ludoski said. "I bounced back and found my game."

On Friday, to open the NCAA Tournament, Arizona swept Northern Arizona to advance to Saturday's match. It was that match that was more like the past three years, where the Wildcats didn't drop a point in the first two rounds.

Arizona found itself in a bit of uncharted territory on Saturday, dropping two points in the round-of-32.

"This Clemson team, they're crazy strong," Friend said. "It came down to the wire and my heart just went 1 million miles an hour, but I'm so proud of the guys for getting it done today."

Up next

Arizona will host No. 9 Oklahoma in the Sweet 16 Saturday, May 9. It is the first time that the Wildcats will be hosting the third round, adding another tally to the history the program has recorded since Shields took over as head coach.

"We started really bad at the start of the year, but to be able to end in the top-8 with the start we had speaks to the work we've done all year," Friend said.

Arizona has lost some heartbreakers in the Super Regional the last handful of years on the road, including a 4-3 loss at Colombia two years ago. The Wildcats earned the right to now get this match on their home court next week.

"To play the Super Regional here, we've had go to on the road five teams and we've lost heartbreakers," Shields said. "To be able to do it on our home courts — and I hope we can have the same crowd we had — the energy was awesome.

"I'm excited for next week. I want to celebrate with the guys. We're going to clean up some things and let's see if we can punch our ticket to Athens. That has been our goal the whole year."