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Men's tennis routs Marquette

Playing Monday's postponed match yesterday, the No. 35 Arizona men's tennis team continued its hot-streak with a 5-1 victory against Marquette.

Continuing the solid play, the Wildcats (7-3 overall, 1-2 in Pacific 10 Conference) have jumped 20 spots in the national rankings. According to the team, this is the type of recognition they have been striving for.

"This is the ranking that reflects our team," senior Michel Stopa said.

"(But) I think we're underrated, we're better than 35."

Opening in doubles play, UA dominated the lineup as all three doubles teams came away with victories. In the No. 3 position, juniors Alex Aybar and Brian Jackson defeated Carlo Rossit and Christophe Van Der Gacht 8-6. Senior Alex Brown and freshman Tom Lloyd went to a tie-breaking set before pulling out a 9-8 (7-2) win.

Finishing the undefeated run, senior Jean-Noel LaCoste and Stopa won in a 9-8 thriller, having won all seven points in the tie-breaking set. Holding an 8-7 lead and reaching deuce four times, the match point slipped through their fingers. This proved to be an advantage for them, carrying it into the extra frame.

"We should've broken them way before, so we channeled out anger during the tie-breaker," Stopa said.

In singles play, Arizona won four out of five matches, rolling to the team's fourth straight win. Aybar, who was in the No. 1 slot, won 6-4, 7-5 against Peter Mojzis, and No. 2 LaCoste went on to win his fourth consecutive singles match in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4 against Van Der Gacht.

Getting deeper into the season with the current winning streak has allowed the team to work on their chemistry.

"(The wins) bring us closer together and creates a great atmosphere," LaCoste said.

With strong showings throughout both the singles and doubles lineup, the team is prepared for this weekend's rematch against Southern California and UCLA, teams that beat the Wildcats earlier this season.

"If we maintain our focus and keep doing what we've done for the past week, I'm really confident we'll win," Stopa said.

The women's match against Marquette was canceled because of rain. The match has been rescheduled for today at 1:30 p.m. at Robson Tennis Center.