Arizona men’s tennis coach Clancy Shields wants “to see this place rockin’,” he said ahead of his team’s big home weekend against no. 37 UCLA and No. 9 USC.
“As loud as we can possible be,” he added.
Shields’ Wildcats, ranked 18th heading into the weekend, play host to the Bruins and Trojans at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center for the final time before the Southern California schools leave the Pac-12.
“It will be the most intense match of the year for us because both of those teams really dislike us and we don’t really like them much,” Shields said. “We’re not hiding it, so this is a match we want everyone out there. We would love to see all of Tucson come out and support the boys.”
Arizona (15-4, 1-1 Pac-12) has historically struggled against both programs, but that’s not the case lately. The Wildcats have two straight wins over USC (10-5, 0-0) and a win over UCLA (8-4, 0-0) in 2021 (last season’s match was canceled).
The Wildcats welcome UCLA to the UA campus Friday at 2 p.m., then match up with USC Sunday at 1 p.m.
Arizona's Jonas Ziverts wins a final-point rally to clinch not only his own match in straight sets (6-0, 6-2), but also the Arizona men's tennis team's collective 6-1 victory over New Mexico State at LaNelle Robson Tennis Center on March 25, 2023. Video courtesy Arizona Athletics (via Twitter)
Arizona swept New Mexico State in a doubleheader last Saturday after opening Pac-12 play the previous weekend. After losing in heartbreaking fashion to No. 24 Stanford 4-3, Arizona quickly rebounded the next day to defeat No. 33 Cal 4-3.
In both matches, UA won the doubles point to give them an early 1-0 lead before singles play led to them being tied 3-3 with one match to go. Arizona was unable to prevail against the Cardinal, but senior Nick Lagaev pulled through for the Wildcats against Cal with a 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) victory to give Arizona a huge road win.
“I just tried to win, especially when Colton (Smith) finished his match and everybody was watching me,” Lagaev said. “I was looking over and I just wanted to do it for the team. I wanted to do it for (Jonas) Ziverts, the senior.”
While Arizona did only win one of the two matches, winning the doubles point in both of them shows how the team has improved since last season; doubles play was a struggle at times for the Wildcats in 2022.
“I think we found some good combinations — good combos of teams together,” Shields said. “They have good energy and play well together, but I also think the guys are going after it. They’re not waiting for teams to give it to us. They’re attacking and going to take the match.
“It is with anything in life. You can’t wait for somebody to give it to you. You can’t get passive. You can’t wait,” Shields added. “You watch March Madness. The teams at the end of the game that are protecting a lead are the ones that sometimes get upset.”
Shields added that Cal beat Texas and Stanford in doubles — wins that are doubly impressive considering the Longhorns are the No. 1 team in the country, and Stanford has one of the best doubles teams in the nation (led by the 22nd-ranked pairing Nishesh Basavareddy and Arthur Fery).
Arizona's freshman doubles duo of Eric Padgham and Dominique Rolland defeat New Mexico State's Luca Fe D'Ostiani and Ryan Ford, 6-1, to secure the doubles point for Arizona in the Wildcats' 6-1 team win over the Aggies March 25, 2023 at LaNelle Robson Tennis Center on the UA campus. Video courtesy Arizona Athletics (via Twitter)
Lagaev is currently the No. 91 ranked singles player in the country. It’s not quite a career-high as he previously got up to No. 74, but it still shows the work he has put in this season. In the offseason, he worked the most on his physicality and movement.
“If I can move well and play with pretty high intensity, I think I’m the best,” Lagaev said. “At my position, I don’t think there is anyone more physical than I am, so I’m definitely trying to implement that in all of my matches.”
Lagaev is one of four UA singles players who are nationally ranked. The list also includes No. 45 Jonas Ziverts, No. 80 Colton Smith and No. 118 Herman Hoeyeraal. In doubles, the pairing of Ziverts and Hoeyeraal is ranked No. 67, while Ziverts is ranked again as a doubles companion to Jay Friend; they’re at No. 73.
The Wildcats have six match wins over ranked teams already this year with hosting in the NCAA Tournament on their mind after just missing out on doing so last year following the program’s first-ever Pac-12 title.
“The vibes are high,” Lagaev said. “We definitely got something special this year. I think all the guys are super close, probably one of the closest teams I’ve been on since I’ve been here so that’s a positive.”
