No. 11 Arizona men’s tennis defeated No. 18 University of Central Florida with a 4-1 win at the Big 12 Tennis Championship in Waco, Texas, on Sunday.
Arizona tennis star Colton Smith was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Championship after finishing with a 4-2 combined record at the championship, including two wins in the final against UCF, according to the Big 12.
Smith went 3-0 in singles play with 6-3 wins against UCF’s Yassine Dlimi and added another win in doubles play with partner Alexander Rozin.
Jay Friend put the Wildcats on the board with a 6-2, 6-4 straight sets win, bringing the score to 1-1 after the Knights took a 1-0 lead.
Casper Christensen gave Arizona its first lead with a 6-3, 6-3 victory on court six.
Smith extended the lead to 3-1 with another 6-3, 6-3 win before Rozin clinched the title for the Wildcats with a 6-3, 6-3 victory on court five, according to the Big 12.
Colton Smith and his doubles partner (not shown) Iñaki Cabrera-Bello led Arizona with a 6-0 win on Senior Day against BYU.
Arizona took down Texas Tech with a 4-0 win on April 18 and Baylor with a 4-2 win the following day to advance to the tournament finals against UCF on Sunday. Arizona was the No. 2 seed and UCF was the No. 4 seed.
The Wildcats went 24-4 overall and 7-2 in the Big 12 this season, including going on an eight-match win streak to wrap up their first season in the Big 12.
Arizona will find out who they take on in the opening round of the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championship during the tournament selection show on Monday, April 28.
