After beating in-state rival Arizona State last weekend, the UA men’s tennis team is heading to Baylor University in Waco, Texas, for their first-ever Big 12 championships.
In addition to its 4-0 drubbing of ASU, the men’s team is coming off huge wins against Baylor, Texas Tech and University of Utah.
The team this season faced completely new competitors as they transitioned from the Pac-12 to the Big 12.
The Wildcats came into last Saturday’s meet against ASU in Tempe after beating Brigham Young 4-0 at home April 5, with standout performances from Colton Smith and Iñaki Cabrera-Bello.
With only four losses this entire season, the Wildcats are hopeful to keep up the momentum as they advance to the Big-12 championships.
The Wildcats headed to Tempe on April 12 after beating the Sun Devils at home earlier this season. ASU was coming off a loss against University of Central Florida before Saturday’s rivalry match.
“We’ve played them in March, and so we kind of have a good idea of what they look like and you know, we see them every year,” assistant coach Alexander Free said before Saturday’s match. “We got them the first time, but it’s Arizona versus Arizona. I think we’re in a good spot. We’ve had a good week at practice, but every match is a new match.”
Free said the team is feeling confident as they head into the championships, where they will face a different climate and back-to-back matches.
“We’re going to go play one match, and we’ll reset and do it again,” Free said. “It’s like, okay, we’ve got to get ourselves mentally prepared and physically prepared to go play three really tough opponents, back to back to back.”
Free said this week’s championships will be a good stepping stone for his young team. This year’s UA team included only three seniors and six freshmen.
“I think we’re playing better as a team,” Free said. “I think we’re settling into our lineup every single match we play, we’re getting a little better.”
UA takes on Texas Tech University on April 18 in Waco. The matches are broadcast on ESPN+, which requires a subscription. For more information and the complete schedule, visit big12sports.com.
Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.
