It didn’t take long for the freshman duo of Dominique Rolland and Eric Padgham to make an immediate impact on the UA men’s tennis team.
The duo took home the doubles championship in the fall at the Jack Kramer Collegiate Classic, marking the first time Arizona won a championship at that tournament since it began in 2011.
“It’s one of the most prestigious tournaments in the country, so to have two freshmen (win the championship) is awesome,” said UA coach Clancy Shields, whose team (19-4, 5-1) sits in first place in the Pac-12.
After winning the doubles tournament at the Jack Kramer Collegiate Classic, the freshmen were handed the nickname “The Kramer Crew,” and it has stuck with them ever since.
“I think it has really helped build their confidence,” Shields said. “... They win in practice, they have that confidence, and if I split them up sometimes, maybe they don’t have that confidence as much. They are confident together, they play well together, they complement each other well, and they eat together every meal. All they do is hang out together, so there’s not a group of guys that know each other better, and you see that chemistry when they play together on the court.
The freshman duo did not get to play much early in the regular season, but with junior Herman Hoeyeraal sidelined by a foot injury the past couple of weeks, Rolland and Padgham got to play together last Friday to clinch the doubles point for the Wildcats in what ended up being a 4-1 win over Oregon.
Rolland, from Calabasas, California, has also gotten more action in singles play in place of Hoeyeraal, winning matches over UCLA, Oregon and Washington in the past two weeks.
Arizona's Eric Padgham and Dominique Rolland helped the first-place Wildcats knock off Oregon last week. Friday, UA visits second-place Utah.
“I had to step up because I heard that Herman was out and I’m in,” Rolland said. “I had the chance to step up and I think I took it well.”
Rolland and Padgham, who is from Brisbane, Australia, continue to make strides as teammates.
“I have a really good connection with him as a person as well,” Padgham said. “I’ve spent a lot of time off the court with him as well. I’ve gotten to know Arizona with him and (freshman) Jay Friend.”
Big road test next
Shields has always preached how tough it is to win on the road, and the Wildcats will have their hands full Friday against a Utah team that is undefeated at home this season. The Utes (18-3, 3-1) have only lost four combined home matches over the past four years.
“We’re the underdog,” Shields said. “We’ve never beaten them on their home courts. We’re playing really and I think our team is really good when we embrace the underdog mentality. These guys don’t quit, they have incredible fight and we have to go in there like we’re going to have to steal something from them and the hungry dog hunts best.”
“We’re going to have to go in there the hungrier team and that’s my mission is to stir that fire inside of them and see if we can go steal a road win.”
At the George S. Eccles Tennis Center, where the Utes play, they have eight indoor courts and six outdoor courts. Shields said the ITA rule is it has to be at least 50 degrees for two of the three hours of the match to play outside. The current weather report in Salt Lake City for Friday projects a temperature hovering right around 50.
Shields said in years past, he would sometimes bring up whether the match should be played indoors or outdoors. But he won’t do that this year.
“We’ve got to focus on what we’re doing,” Shields said. “I think it is one of these things where those conditions are not going to affect us because it’s irrelevant. We’ve got to focus on what we do and if we focus on what we do and we do it well, we’re a tough team to beat.”
Drop shots
Arizona can clinch a second straight regular-season Pac-12 title if it defeats Utah on Friday and Arizona State next weekend. If the Wildcats go 1-1 or 0-2, it will depend on what the Utes, Stanford and Cal do to close the regular season.
