By
Lindsey Manroel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Gough, Blau trying to defend doubles title
Arizona's doubles team of senior Michelle Gough and junior Lindsay Blau will attempt to defend its championship title at the ITA Regionals in Irvine, Calif., today.
Gough and Blau will return as defending champions after defeating ASU's Allison Bradshaw and Mhari Brown, 9-8, at the 1999 regionals.
After a disappointing showing at the Fresno State Invitational, Oct. 27-29, the UA women's tennis team will have the opportunity to make up for the unimpressive weekend.
"It's going to be the best competition along with the ITA All-American," assistant coach Simon Thibodeau said. "It's going to attract the best in our region, and I think our region is one of the best, if not the best, region in the country."
The tournament will consist of a 64-player main and qualifying draw with a 32-doubles main draw.
Blau will be seeded No. 8 in singles - the highest individual seed for UA - and Gough and Blau will be seeded second in doubles.
The UA men's tennis team will also face a tough challenge when they travel to the Region 8 South in Malibu, Calif., today.
The tournament will consist of a 64-player main draw, 32-player qualifying draw and a 32-team doubles draw.
"It's going to be pretty tough," sophomore Tommy Lloyd said. "USC and UCLA are going to be brutal. We'll have to play our best tennis because it's some of the most grueling competition NCAA tennis has to offer."
Among the competition, 10 players are ranked nationally in the top-100 -seven of those 10 are ranked in the top-40. No UA men's tennis players have been ranked in the top-100.
For Arizona to be successful, the Wildcats will have their work cut out for them as they will need to find a way to outplay No. 12 Jean-Noel Grinda of UCLA.
"He's a top player in tennis, without a doubt," assistant coach Bob Helmig said. "He's a tough opponent, but if you can play out the point longer, he can get frustrated and you can beat him."
The regionals will mark the fourth tournament for the Arizona men's tennis team this fall season.
The Wildcats - who have never advanced past the quarterfinals in the Region 8 South Regionals - are both physically and mentally prepared for the challenge that awaits them.
"We always try to go into every tournament thinking we're going to come away with the hardware," Lloyd said. "Win or lose, we try to get the best out of it and learn from our mistakes.
"We're always fired up to go out and play good tennis for the Cats. It's a pretty exciting tournament to match up against players from the Pac-10. We're fired up and ready to go 'Bear Down.'"
