Playing in a home away from home, the Ventana Canyon Resort, the UA men's tennis team battled weather conditions and Wichita State and came out on top, 6-1.
"It was nasty conditions up here, said senior Tom Lloyd. "The courts were quick, it was windy and cold, but we battled."
The Wildcats (5-1) swept the doubles matches and won five of six singles matches to hand Wichita State (2-3) its third loss of the season.
"Our guys have been focused," said senior Whi Kim. "We're all playing well and the team chemistry is great."
Kim lost a tough three-set match in a tiebreak to Carlo Contente, but said his elbow is getting better as he plays more matches. Tom Lloyd and Paul Warkentin both lost the first set but came back to win their singles matches, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 over Goran Vujaklija and 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 over Westin Hudnall, respectively. Roger Matalonga continued his superb play, winning 6-4, 6-4 over Gabriel Loreda, carrying his winning streak to six. Colin O'Grady and Daniel Andrus gave the Wildcats their other two points by dispatching Boris Gubic, 6-3, 6-4, and Juan Escalante, 6-1, 6-2, respectively.
Arizona will try to avenge its loss to BYU this Saturday at the Lanelle Robson Center.
"We're looking to get those guys back," said Lloyd. "We're going to come out firing and try to get them good, and pay them back for what they did to us last year."
"We definitely put a star on this date," added Kim. "It hurt last year. I've been here four years and that's one of the matches that hurt the most. I think the guys will be pumped up and focused."