By Steve Fanucchi
Arizona Daily Wildcat
The UA men's tennis team will travel to take on intra-state rival Arizona State today in Tempe, and then will finally end a month-long road trip when it takes on Oregon Thursday at La Paloma Country Club in Tucson.
"The stretch of road trips has really been a burden on us, but we are looking for a way to get back in the thick of things and make it to the Regionals," assistant coach Tom Hagedorn said. "We have a streak going against ASU and we want to keep it going."
The Wildcats (4-11 overall, 0-6 in the Pacific 10 Conference South) are off to one of the most horrendous starts in school history and have yet to snatch a conference win.
They have won the last four dual matches against the Sun Devils dating back to April 14, 1993, and Arizona is hoping to continue that streak and make it five with their first conference victory of the year.
"We have our full lineup back and we are fired up to play," Hagedorn said.
The Wildcats will play the Ducks Thursday in a nonconference match, because the Ducks are in the Pac-10 North Division. Arizona has not played the Ducks in over three years, while the Ducks are currently posting a record of 27-5.
Arizona will take on the 17th-ranked Sun Devils (9-6), led by the No. 1 intercollegiate singles player in the country, Sargis Sargsian, who carries an incredible 33-5 overall record.
The Wildcats will counter with the return of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's 20th-ranked singles player, Jan Anderson. Anderson had been out playing in the Davis Cup but returns to the Wildcat lineup with a record of 23-11.
The Sun Devils will also bring on the attack of 79th-ranked Paul Reber, who holds an 18-15 record.
Eddie Schwartz will also be back for the Wildcats. Schwartz is second on the Wildcat team with 13 victories but has been sidelined this past week because of illness.
Freshman Roland Kupka will be replaced by Vuk Tapuskovic in an effort to find the winning combination.
"Roland has been struggling as of late and he needs a breather from dual matches for now," Hagedorn said.
The Wildcats will also compete with the services of Sten Sumberg, who has been hurting with a knee injury all year. Sumberg will be back to full strength against the Sun Devils.
"Sten has been struggling because of not playing any dual matches and now he will be ready," Hagedorn said.
The Sun Devils have a losing record in the Pac-10 South at 1-6.