Final Home Matches Against Top-25 Foes
THIS WEEK IN HUSKY MEN'S TENNIS
Friday, Apr. 19 | Bill Quillian Stadium
Washington hosts #10 Arizona, 5 p.m. | Live Match Coverage
Saturday, Apr. 20 | Bill Quillian Stadium – Senior Day
Washington hosts #22 Arizona State, 1 p.m. | Live Match Coverage
SEATTLE – Washington hosts its final two matches of the regular season this week, welcoming in two Top-25 opponents in No. 10 Arizona and No. 22 Arizona State. Friday, Apr. 19, the Huskies host the Wildcats at 5 p.m. and the next day the Sun Devils are in for a 1 p.m. first serve. Saturday's match with Arizona State will also be UW's Senior Day, where the team will recognize seniors Han-Chih Lin, Jim Hendrikx, and Heman Nama prior to the match. Both matches will be played at Bill Quillian Stadium.
The Huskies sit at 8-12 on the year and 2-4 in Pac-12 play with these last two matches before the final Pac-12 Championships are held next week in Ojai, Calif. from Apr. 24-27.
Arizona comes in ranked 10th with a 19-3 record and a 5-1 Pac-12 record. Their only conference loss was a 3-4 loss to Stanford. Colton Smith is ranked 20th nationally in singles, Jay Friend is ranked No. 30, and Gustaf Strom is ranked No. 75. Smith and Friend are ranked 29th as a doubles duo.
The Sun Devils are 14-8 overall and 2-2 in conference as they have had one match at USC suspended and another vs. Cal canceled. ASU will play at Oregon on Friday before reaching Seattle. Murphy Cassone is ranked 9th nationally in singles and Bor Artnak is ranked 54th. In doubles, Artnak and Max McKennon are ranked 76th.
Honoring the Seniors
Lin, Hendrikx, and Nama are the first graduating class for second-year Head Coach Rahim Esmail. Lin was here when Esmail arrived as an assistant coach for the 2022 season, while Hendrikx was Esmail's first addition as head coach in 2023, and Nama joined the squad as a grad transfer this season.
Lin, from Chiayi, Taiwan, has been a four-year starter for the Huskies, and has tallied 41 dual singles wins in his career and 29 dual doubles victories. In 2023, he earned All-Pac-12 Second Team honors as he started every match at the No. 1 singles spot. During his sophomore season, Lin helped the Huskies reach the NCAA Championships with 13 dual singles wins, including a crucial victory to clinch a win over Oregon at the Pac-12 Championships that sparked UW's run to the finals.
Hendrikx (Heeze, Netherlands) came to Washington after spending his first two seasons at Samford, where he was coached by Esmail before he made the move to UW. Hendrikx made a big impact in his first year as a Dawg in 2023, starting every match and winning nine dual matches in singles and 10 in doubles. At Samford he was an All-SoCon Team pick as a freshman and sophomore, and he made the NCAA Doubles Championships in 2021 with a program-record high doubles ranking of No. 19.
Nama came to UW after four seasons at Kentucky where he was a team captain on a team that reached the NCAA quarterfinals in 2023. A consummate team-first student-athlete, Nama worked his way into the Husky starting doubles lineup this spring where he has teamed with Ivan Sodan to earn three key doubles wins at Pepperdine, at Utah, and against USC.