Arizona women’s tennis hosted the second annual Wildcat Invitational at the El Conquistador Golf and Tennis Resort over the weekend. It was the first time that the Wildcats competed as a full team this season.
After ending 2014 ranked No. 33 in the nation and losing in the opening round of postseason play, Arizona dominated much of the tournament in the first and second day but struggled to close out some of its matches on the final day.
The Wildcats hosted NAU, New Mexico, Colorado State, Mississippi State, Texas State, Marquette, UTEP and UTSA.
“The Wildcat Invitational is a well-attended event that gives our team the opportunity to play in front of a home crowd in the fall,” UA women’s tennis head coach Vicki Maes said in a press release. “Last year’s inaugural tournament was a success as we took home the titles in every draw. We hope to match that effort this weekend, but we know the competition is tougher.”
Junior Shayne Austin and freshman Hanna Sohn did just that when they defeated Marquette’s Erin Gebes and Ana Pimienta 8-4 to win the doubles championship of the invitational.
“It was a successful weekend because I got to see all the new girls play,” Maes said in a press release. “It was nice to play a home event, and we found out that we have a lot of things to work on. The kids are enthusiastic and they are very coachable. I saw a lot of good things.”
In the back draw portion of doubles play, freshman Devin Chypyha and junior Inge Hendrikx dropped a tight match to UTEP’s Davina Meza and Duda Santos 8-7(4).
In singles, New Mexico’s Rachana Bhat defeated Sohn in a three-set match (7-6, 4-6, 6-1) in the finals of the Cardinal Singles bracket. It was Sohn’s first loss of the weekend after being 7-0 in tournament play. Mississippi State’s Alexandra Corder defeated Hendrikx in the finals of the Navy Singles bracket.
On the men’s side, the team continued its fall season heading to compete in the San Diego State Invitational in San Diego. The Wildcats battled some of the nation’s top tennis programs, going up against No. 1 USC, No. 3 UCLA, No. 68 SDSU, Denver, Loyola Marymount and UC Irvine.
Senior Robin Chou and freshman Shoki Kasahara advanced to the semifinals of main draw doubles action before dropping an 8-5 match to Loyola Marymount’s Joat Farah and Othar Kordsachia. It was the Arizona duo’s first time competing in doubles play together.
In singles matches, junior Matt Dunn and freshman Romain Boudaroua had main draw victories on the opening day of the invitational before dropping sets in the second round.
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