By
David Stevenson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
The Arizona men's tennis team went 2-1 this weekend in Houston, buoyed by what players are calling a new type of team chemistry.
"All of us are real good friends, something you don't see in other schools' teams," freshman Roeland Brateanu said.
The weekend started out on a bad note for the No. 51 Wildcats (5-2 overall, 0-1 Pacific 10 Conference). Arizona dropped Friday's match to No. 66 Rice, 6-1.
Senior Jari Niskala provided the only point of the match, defeating Veck Rajevac 6-4, 6-7, 6-4. Freshman Whi Kim fell to Matthew Mathaes, 6-5, 6-2, snapping Kim's seven-match winning streak.
Playing indoors, the Owls (7-0) had the home-court advantage. Arizona rarely plays inside, and it showed in the match, as the Wildcats were quickly dispatched.
"Everything's different indoors, it's a smaller area, the sound, air and lighting are all different," Brateanu said.
After the loss, the team regrouped in the evening.
"After the match, we all went out to dinner and saw a movie together to focus on the tough day ahead," Brateanu said.
The team's chemistry is something they pride themselves on. The active roster has three pairs of roommates.
Friday night's relaxation paid off, as Arizona slipped past North Carolina State Saturday morning, 4-3.
Brateanu clinched the win with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory.
"It was a lot of pressure, especially since I'm a freshman and I don't have the same experience as everyone else does," he said.
Junior Steve Capriati, sophomore Tom Lloyd and Kim each chipped in with wins in singles play.
In the afternoon, Arizona trounced Lamar 7-0 to close out the weekend. During the beating, the entire singles lineup won in straight sets, each in under an hour.
"They were definitely the worst team we've faced this year," freshman Carl Hagman said.
Exhausted after the rough weekend, Brateanu was pleased with the team's quick turnaround.
"We stepped it up after a tough loss. It took a lot to do, but we did it," he said.
After arriving home at 3 a.m. Sunday morning and missing two days of school, some of the team held study sessions in the library Sunday afternoon.
"This team is incredible, everything is so close," Brateanu said. "That's what makes us a team and ready to fight for each other."
