March 18, 2013

TUCSON -

Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 


Time: 12:00 p.m. 


Location: LaNelle Robson Tennis Center

LaNelle Robson Tennis Center: This week's match will be held on Arizona's home courts. LaNelle Robson Tennis Center was dedicated in 1991 and is home to 17 lit courts, a center-court grandstand and a permanent canopy over the stands.

Arizona Head Coach Tad Berkowitz enters his eighth season as the head coach of the Wildcats. During the 2008-09 season he was named the Pac-10 Men's Tennis Coach of the Year and the Wilson/ITA West Region Coach of the Year. He joined the program in 2004 and has held numerous national and collegiate coaching positions. He was promoted to the head coaching position in the spring of 2005 after serving as hall-of-famer Bill Wright's assistant. Berkowitz was a top collegiate player for the Universities of Kentucky and New Mexico, respectively.

Super Seven: Arizona returns seven players from the 2011-2012 season. Juniors Giacomo Miccini, Kieren Thompson, Mario Urquidi, and Andre Vidaller return as the most experienced members of the team. Sophomores Carlos Bermudez, Robin Chou and Sumeet Shinde also return as key contributors.

Fresh Four: The Wildcats welcome four new players to the 2013 roster. Freshman Matt Dunn joined the team in the fall along with sophomore transfer Ben Lee. Joining the team at the start of the spring season are freshman Naoki Takedaand junior transfer Fredrik Ask.

The Rankings: After falling out of the ITA rankings in 2012 the Cats have clawed their way back in. In the latest poll Arizona jumps from No. 61 to No. 54 after a split weekend in Denver, Colo. Comparatively, Oklahoma fell one spot in the rankings from No. 6 to No. 7. New ITA rankings will be available on Tuesday.

Last Time Out: Last week, the Cats fell 4-1 to the TCU Horned Frogs at LaNelle Robson Tennis Center. Arizona dropped the doubles point with losses on courts one and three and went on to win only one singles match. Earning Arizona's only point of the day was junior Giacomo Miccini on court one.

Match Data: The Wildcats (9-4, 0-0 Pac-12) will host the No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners (10-4, 0-0 Big-12), at LaNelle Robson Tennis Center.

The Series vs. Oklahoma: This will be the fifth meeting of the two schools with Oklahoma holding the 3-1 advantage over Arizona.

The Last Meeting: On March 4, 2012 the Cats fell 6-1 to the Sooners in Norman, Okla. Arizona dropped the doubles point with losses on all three courts and went on to win only one singles match. Earning Arizona's only point of the day was Robin Chou, who claimed a victory on court six.

Scouting the Sooners: Last weekend, the No. 7-ranked Sooners fell 4-3 to No. 28 Florida State. The Sooners dropped the doubles point with losses on courts two and three. In singles play, Oklahoma dropped matches on courts three, five and six.