By Steve Fanucchi
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Struggling may be the only word to describe the UA men's tennis team.
With No. 1 singles player Jan Anderson out of the Wildcat lineup (he is playing in the Davis Cup) and senior Sten Sumberg still resting a sore left knee, the UA had to really press its luck in Las Vegas.
"We knew it was going to be rough, but in the long run it will pay off, when everyone is back," UA coach Bill Wright said.
As the Wildcats traveled to the city of high rollers, they hoped to find some of their own magic as they took on Nevada-Las Vegas (6-8) and 49th-ranked San Diego (4-1).
Hoping to continue their winning ways against nonconference opponents, the Wildcats were defeated by the Rebels Friday and the Torreros Saturday.
The two consecutive losses dropped the 31st-ranked Wildcats' record to 4-9 overall. Dating back to March 4, the Wildcats have lost six in a row.
The shuffling of the lineup continued as the red-hot Chris Jenkins and Edward Schwartz got the chance to show what they had as Jenkins moved up to play the No. 1 position and Scwartz played the No. 2 position for the Wildcats.
"Chris and Eddie have been playing outstanding right now," Wright said.
Filling in for Anderson and Sumberg were Jack Enfield Ä playing the No. 3 spot Ä and Vuk Tapuskovic, who played in the No. 6 position. James Rey played in the No. 4 slot and freshman Roland Kupka took care of the No. 5 position.
The Wildcats took command of the match early
against the Rebels, as they snatched the doubles point, but then faltered in the singles matches.
The 17th-ranked Roger Pettersson took on Jenkins, who has won six out of his last seven matches. But Jenkins was ousted in straight sets 7-5, 6-4.
Schwartz, who also has been on fire for the Wildcats, played Luke Smith. Smith defeated Schwartz in three sets 2-6, 7-6, 6-4.
The only two winners in the singles matches against the Rebels were Enfield and Rey. Enfield defeated Tim Blenkiron 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 and Rey defeated Jules Pohjola 6-2, 6-3.
Despite a good effort, in the end the Wildcats fell to the Rebels 4-3.
Saturday, San Diego beat the Wildcats by the same score as the Rebels did.
Schwartz continued to play consistently, as he defeated Jack Whigham 7-6, 6-3, giving him an overall record of 14-8 with an 9-4 dual match record.
Jenkins was beaten by Emmanuel Udovorh 6-3, 6-3. Jenkins dropped two straight matches for the first time in over a month.
Enfield defeated Bobby Hardina 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 making him the only Wildcat to win both matches over the weekend.
As a losing streak looms upon the UA, it will approach another weekend of Pacific 10 Southern Conference tennis where it has not won a match this year.