There was a lot at stake for the Arizona men’s tennis team in last week’s match against Utah. The 14th-ranked Wildcats needed a win over the No. 32-ranked Utes to remain alone at the top of the Pac-12 standings and poised to win their first-ever conference championship.
Arizona was in a similar spot last season, but their hopes of a title were spoiled by the Utes.
This time around, Arizona exacted some revenge. The Wildcats beat the Utes 4-0, securing the sweep in under two hours.
“They wrecked our regular-season title last year, so our guys were pretty pumped to play them,” UA coach Clancy Shields said. “We knew they were gonna be tough and it was pretty cool to see our guys come out with a win in under two hours.”
Arizona has won five straight matches, and carries a one-game lead over second-place USC heading into the final two matches of the season. The Wildcats will take on Oregon on Friday and Washington on Sunday; by winning both matches, Arizona can secure the title.
Like a pitcher who takes a perfect game into the seventh inning, the prospect of Arizona’s first conference championship could go unspoken.
Shields, however, refuses to be superstitious.
“We’re all thinking about it … we might as well talk about it,” Shields said. “I think there’s times where you’ve never been able to do something and nobody wants to talk about it. Then it just consumes you. Well, now we’re going to talk about it. This is what’s on the line and if we want to do it, then we gotta go attack it.
“I just don’t see any purpose in shying away from what we’re playing for. We’re playing for the first conference championship in our program’s history.”
The Wildcats will march into an environment that could pose several problems. The weekend forecast calls for cold and rain — exactly what you’d expect in the Pacific Northwest this time of year.
Apart from that, Shields said he expects a rowdy crowd and a tough officiating crew in both matches.
“Anytime you play a team that’s top-15 in the country, people are going to come watch and cheer against you, and we welcome that,” Shields said. “We like being on the road. I think it’s us versus the world when we go out there. I think our guys really thrive in that environment.”
Smith poised to become ‘a top-10 player’
Blue-chip freshman Colton Smith is developing — and fast.
“I think he’s going to be a top-10 player very, very soon,” Shields said. “Sometimes, you get those freshman jitters, freshman things, moments that happen but he’s very, very close to becoming the player that we all think he can be.”
Smith has quickly become one of the Wildcats’ most pivotal players this season, having won six of his seven singles matches.
“I’ve definitely been able to settle into the atmosphere and the environment and figure out how to play with the crowd,” Smith said. “(College tennis) is definitely a bit different than junior tennis. I feel like I’m definitely getting used to that and it’s helping out a lot.”
He’ll be in familiar territory on Sunday. Smith grew up in Tenino, Washington, just over an hour away from Seattle. Smith is expecting his parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends to be in attendance.
“I’m looking forward to seeing a bunch of my family this weekend, showing out for them,” he said.
