MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The #31 Wildcats finished fourth at the Blue Gray Tennis Classic after defeating Furman University 4-2 in their first round on Friday, Feb. 24 then advancing to the semifinals where they faced off against #47 Texas Tech. Arizona was blanked 4-0 by the Lady Raiders on Saturday, Feb. 25 then fell 4-3 to #32 Illinois to finish in fourth place.
Round 1: Furman
In a singles only match, Arizona grabbed 4 wins to finalize their round one victory. Both of the freshmen in the lineup were first off the courts and won their matches in straight sets. At three singles, Reece Carter defeated Jess Dawson 6-1, 6-1 and Tanvi Narendran won 6-2, 6-2 against Madison Dillon at five singles.
Furman tied the match 2-2 after defeating Kayla Wilkins 7-5, 6-3 at four singles and Parker Fry 6-4, 7-6(4) at six singles. Midori Castillo put Arizona back in the lead with her 7-6(5), 7-5 win against Marissa Pennings at two singles. Clinching the match for the ‘Cats was Salma Ziouti at one singles with a split set win over Ellie Schulson (7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3).
Round 2: #47 Texas Tech
The Wildcats faced off against the Lady Raiders for the second time this season in the second round of Blue Gray. Texas Tech took today’s doubles point in a quick contest. Belen Nevenhoven and Castillo lost 1-6 at three doubles to Dmitrichenko/Steep and Ziouti/Fry were defeated 2-6 at one doubles by Sayfetdinova/Komac.
It was an unsuccessful stint in singles as the Lady Raiders defeated three Wildcats in straight sets to blank Arizona 4-0 overall. Ziouti fell 6-2, 6-1 at one singles, Castillo was bested 6-1 in both sets at two singles and Narendran was defeated 6-4, 6-4 at five singles. Freshman Carter dropped her first set 6-7 at three singles but was up one game 3-2 in the second set. At four singles, Wilkins split sets with her opponent losing the first 2-6 and coming back 6-3 in the second, and Lexi Ryngler was tied 5-5 in her second set after dropping the first 4-6 at six singles.
Round 3: #32 Illinois
Arizona fought to every last game in their contest against #32 Illinois. The Wildcats dropped the doubles point but fought back in singles to close the lead on Illinois in singles play. Arizona’s three points came from straight set match wins on courts one, two and three. Ziouti finished 6-2, 6-1 at one singles, then…
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