OJAI, Calif. – Arizona Men’s Tennis proved victorious on the courts today in Ojai, taking down #53 USC to advance to the semifinal round of the Pac-12 Championship tournament.
Starting the day off strong, the Cats secured the doubles point with back to back wins on courts one and two. Finishing first was Arizona’s Herman Hoeyeraal and Eric Padgham, taking down Karl Lee and Sam Rubell in a swift 6-2 match. Snatching the doubles point for the Cats was #31 Colton Smith and Jay Friend with a 7-5 win over Peter Makk and Oscar Weightman.
The Cats faced a fierce back and forth battle in singles competition, dropping a match on court two before getting the first singles win of the day from #71 Gustaf Strom over Lodewijk Weststrate (6-4, 6-1). Trojan Volodymyr Iakubenko then took down Hoeyeraal 6-4, 7-6(5), leaving little room for error from the Cats. #20 Colton Smith put Arizona ahead once again with a straight-set 7-6(7), 6-4 victory over #76 Peter Makk. Senior Nick Lagaev clinched the match for the Cats, taking down Sam Rubell 6-3, 7-5.
Arizona will go on to play the winner of #8 UCLA and #64 Oregon Friday, April 26 at 4:00 p.m. MST.
Results
#11 Arizona 4, #53 USC 2
Doubles Competition
Order of finish: 2, 1
1. #31 Colton Smiith/Jay Friend def. Peter Maak/Oscar Weightman 7-5
2. Herman Hoeyeraal/Eric Padgham def. Karl Lee/Sam Rubell 6-2
3. Nick Lagaey/Inaki Cabrera-Bello vs. Volodomyr Iakubenko/Lodewiik Westsrate 5-5, unfinished
Singles Competition
Order of finish: 2, 3, 4, 1, 6
1. Colton Smith def. Peter Maak 7-6 (9), 6-4
2. Oscar Weightman def. Jay Friend 6-3, 6-3
3. Gustaf Strom def. Lodewijk Weststrate 6-4, 6-1
4. Volodymyr Iakubenko def. Herman Hoeyeraal 6-4, 7-6 (5)
5. Casper Christensen vs. Karl Lee 6-1, 4-6, 4-1, unfinished
6. Nick Lagaev def. Sam Rubell 6-3, 7-5
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