Arizona men’s tennis coach Clancy Shields has earned bragging rights over his older brother as UA swept Boise State 4-0 Friday afternoon at Robson Tennis Center to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“I’m really happy that we’re through to the second round of the NCAA Tournament,” Shields said. “There are only 32 teams that can say that. The last three years, we’ve been able to get past the first round. I’m happy for our team.”
Shields said he was not buying into all the storylines of these two teams heading into the match. His brother, Luke, is the head coach at Boise State, where both Shields brothers played.
Left: Arizona’s Eric Padgham yells to his teammates after he and Gustaf Strom notched a point in their doubles match against Boise State in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament on May 5, 2023. RIGHT: Arizona’s Colton Smith eyes a return against Boise State’s Simon Arca Costas in the No. 1 match in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament on May 5, 2023. Smith’s 6-4, 6-2 win clinched the 4-0 match over the Broncos.
“We’ve worked too hard this year to get caught up in distractions,” Shields said. “One of our main goals this year was to host, and the reason why we wanted to host is because we wanted to go to the Sweet 16 again. I think we accomplished the first task of that.”
Arizona played in front of a loud, vibrant crowd. It’s the first time the UA, the No. 14 overall seed in the tournament, has hosted an NCAA regional.
The Wildcats will take on Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. Saturday in the second round. The Cowboys upset No. 20 Florida 4-2 earlier Friday.
Boise State came out swinging early, but the Wildcats were able to hold their ground. UA took a 1-0 lead after taking the doubles point.
Colton Smith and Herman Hoeyeraal lost their match 2-6 against Caden Moortgat and Idriss Haddouch of Boise State. However, Jonas Ziverts and Jay Friend defeated Simon Arca Costas and Michael Bott 6-2 on Court 1, while Eric Padgham and Gustaf Strom won their match 6-2 on Court 3 over Sam Sippel and Jan Lucca Marquardt to clinch the doubles point for UA.
Arizona’s Eric Padgham yells to his teammates after he and Gustaf Strom notched a point in their doubles match against Boise State in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament on May 5, 2023.
Hoeyeraal knows that it won’t be his day in every match he plays in, but he has confidence in the rest of his teammates, and that was displayed in the doubles-point win for Arizona.
“That’s the thing in our doubles, I think all three (teams) can win any day,” Hoeyeraal said. “If one team doesn’t have their day, the two others will step up. We have a lot of depth in our singles and doubles. I feel like that’s what makes us a very good team.”
In singles play, the Wildcats made quick work of the Broncos as Friend defeated John Chin 6-1, 6-1 on Court 5, and Hoeyeraal defeated James Van Herzeele 6-2, 6-1 on Court 4 to put UA ahead 3-0.
It was Smith on Court 1 who clinched the match win for Arizona with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Arca Costas.
The Cowboys were 12-12 during the regular season, 0-5 in the Big 12, yet stunned the Gators.
“That’s a team with nothing to lose,” Hoeyeraal said. “They beat a team that won the NCAA Tournament two years ago. They beat a top-20 team just now, and now they’re playing a top-15 team at their home court. It is going to be tough for them, and it’s going to be tough for us.”
Arizona coach Clancy Shields gathers his team just before the Wildcats takes on Boise State in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament on May 5, 2023.
Drop shots
Arizona only lost one set out of all six singles matches that finished or went unfinished.
Freshman Dominique Rolland played on Court 6 after it had been Nick Lagaev for most of the season on that court. His match went unfinished 6-0, 5-7. “He has been playing really well and in practice he has been playing well,” Shields said. “We felt like he was the hot hand, and tomorrow could be different.”
