The Arizona men’s tennis team is heading to Columbus with nothing to lose as the Wildcats take on No. 3 seed Ohio State in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
The Buckeyes lost just two matches this season and did not lose a match at home, but that isn’t stopping the Wildcats from fully believing they can win this match to advance to what would be the first Elite Eight appearance in program history.
“We’re traveling across the country to win this match and go to the final site (in Orlando),” UA coach Clancy Shields said. “Of course we appreciate the challenge that’s in front of us, but at the end of the day, the court is 78 feet long and 27 feet wide and it doesn’t change whether it’s in Tucson or Columbus. I think we got the talent to do it, and I think we have the heart to do it. I expect to go and win.”
Arizona went 5-4 in true road matches this season, including wins over No. 10 Baylor, No. 38 Oklahoma, No. 56 Tulsa and No. 33 Cal. Arizona also fell in a tight 4-2 match on the road against No. 7 Texas.
“We love the adversity, and we love the challenge,” Shields said. “It brings our team even closer together when fans are cheering against us and when we get calls that don’t go our way. We know we’re going to have all of that this week. I think that’s what excites us and what makes us difficult.
“I think the thing that makes us tough is we have the talent of a top-10 team, the heart of a top-five team and we’re a gritty team. We have nothing to lose because no one is expecting us to win except these 12 guys on the team and these three coaches. That’s a dangerous thing for us to go out there and swing away. They have everything to lose, we have everything to gain, and we’re going to play in that way.”
It can be challenging when playing on the road in college tennis, making the belief teammates have in one another that much more important. That’s what Shields has built within the Arizona program — not only bringing in winning players but also players who have high character off the court.
“I think it’s the belief that we have (in each other),” freshman Jay Friend said. “Everytime we go into someone’s house, we know we can bring them down. As a team, we’re so close. We trust each other and we know what we can do, so that’s why we’ve been so good on the road.”
Arizona’s Jay Friend hits a return during doubles action against Oklahoma State in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament on May 6, 2023.
Per the latest ITA rankings, Ohio State has five singles players ranked in the top 41 and three doubles teams ranked in the top 21. That is all thrown out the window, however, in the postseason.
“All of that doesn’t mean anything when you get into the match,” Shields said, “because it’s the NCAA Tournament and it’s win or go home.”
The pressure will be on Ohio State. The Buckeyes consistently have been a top-five to -10 team in the country most seasons, but they have never won a national championship. Ohio State did reach the Final Four last season before losing to the eventual runner-up in Kentucky.
“There is a lot of pressure for them to win,” Shields said. “We’ve played with that pressure this year, and it ain’t fun to bring that baggage onto the court. We don’t have that baggage this week.”
The forecast calls for rain showers, meaning the match will likely be indoors. UA has played in a handful of indoor matches this season, including the early-season win over Baylor, as well as a 4-3 loss against Utah to close the regular season in a match that came down to a deciding tiebreaker. The Wildcats will be prepared whether the match is outdoors or indoors.
“These guys are all from Scandinavian countries, Canada — Colton (Smith) is from Washington — so they have only ever played indoor tennis before they came here,” Shields said. “We have that experience. If it’s indoors or outdoors, we’ll be ready, and we’re going to be hungry to do what we have to do to get the win.”
Future Wildcats
UA got a verbal commitment earlier this week from Santiago Padilla Cote, the No. 19 recruit in the class of 2024 and No. 1 recruit in the state of Florida.
As soon as the Wildcats defeated Oklahoma State last weekend, Shields and assistant coaches Bryce Warren and Mateus Ceolin went right back to recruiting.
“Success builds on success,” Shields said. “We’ve had some success on the court, and I think recruits, whoever it is, want to be part of it. We plan to keep this a top-15, top-10 program for as long as I’m here. The lifeblood of your program is recruiting.”
The Arizona men's tennis team celebrates its NCAA Tournament second-round victory over Oklahoma State at Robson Tennis Center (video by Ari Koslow / Special to the Arizona Daily Star)
