NCAA Tournament: Arizona Wildcats men’s tennis disappointed with performance

Back at home for the first time in almost three weeks, Arizona wanted to put on a good show for a packed house at the Lanelle Robson Tennis Center. On paper it did, beating Boise State 4-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

But the performance didn’t pass the eye test, either for players or coaches.

“I think we didn’t play to our full potential, I think we have more to give,” senior Nick Lagaev said. “I think tomorrow, Auburn is gonna be a very good test, and so we got to come out way better.”

Lagaev, playing No. 6 singles, clinched the team victory by beating Boise’s John Chin 6-4, 6-4, living up to his “Captain Clutch” nickname. Arizona also won singles matches at No. 2 (Jay Friend) and No. 5 (Casper Christensen) in straight sets, while the other three had gone to a third set before stopping.

All three doubles matches required tiebreakers, with Friend and Colton Smith winning 7-2—after being down 2-1—to secure the point after Herman Hoyeraal and Scott Padgham won theirs 7-4.

“Congrats to our guys for being clutch in the clutch moments,” Lagaev said. “Shouldn’t have been three tiebreakers, probably not, but it is what it is. We pulled through.”

UA assistant coach Alexander Free said his team has often not looked its best at the start of a tournament. Last week in the Pac-12 Championships in Ojai, Calif., the Wildcats were tied at 2 in the first round against a USC team they’d swept on the road a month earlier.

“I think this team is better once we get into a tournament, we feel like we’ve got some miles under our belt, we always play a little bit better,” Free said. “This is our first match here in a little bit. To get a win under our belts, I’m hoping that we respond well and improve what we need to tomorrow and then play a really good match.”

Friend won his match 6-0, 6-3, while Christensen ran his win streak to 14 singles matches with a 6-3, 6-2 victory.

“As the season has gone I’ve been just playing better and better, and every time I step on the court now I’m really confident that I can get one point for the team,” said Christensen, who redshirted last season after transferring from Miami.

Arizona (25-3) and Auburn (18-10) meet at 1 p.m. PT Saturday, with the winner advancing to the Sweet 16. The Wildcats are looking for their third Sweet 16 bid in the last four years.