Cats Host ITA Kick-Off to Open 2015 Spring Campaign

2015 ITA Kick-Off Weekend Schedule

Friday, Jan. 16
Arizona vs. UC Irvine | 10 am MST | Live Stats
No. 41 Texas Tech vs. No. 61 New Mexico | 10 am MST | Live Stats

Arizona vs. No. 61 New Mexico | 2 pm MST | Live Stats
No. 41 Texas Tech vs. UC Irvine | 2 pm MST | Live Stats

Saturday, Jan. 17
Arizona vs. No. 41 Texas Tech | 10 am MST | Live Stats
No. 61 New Mexico vs. UC Irvine | 10 am MST | Live Stats

Arizona vs. UC Irvine | 2 pm MST | Live Stats
No. 41 Texas Tech vs. No. 61 New Mexico | 2 pm MST | Live Stats

Monday, Jan. 19
Arizona vs. No. 61 New Mexico | 10 am MST | Live Stats
No. 41 Texas Tech vs. UC Irvine | 10 am MST | Live Stats

Arizona vs. No. 41 Texas Tech | 2 pm MST | Live Stats
No. 61 New Mexico vs. UC Irvine | 2 pm MST | Live Stats

TUCSON, Ariz—After a two-month hiatus the University of Arizona Men’s Tennis team will make its highly-anticipated return to the tennis courts, as the Cats play host to the 2015 ITA Kick-Off this Friday-Monday out at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center.

The Wildcats will play six matches in a four-day span, as they’ll take on No. 41 Texas Tech, No. 61 New Mexico, and UC Irvine twice over the weekend, in what will make up a furious start to the 2015 campaign.

Arizona opens the weekend and the season with UC Irvine on Friday at 10 am MST. The Cats have won six of their last seven season openers going back to 2008.

UA will then take on No. 61 New Mexico later in the day at approximately 2 pm MST, in what will mark the first of four ranked matchups on the weekend for the Wildcats.

For live updates all weekend long follow @ArizonaMTennis on Twitter.

Breaking Down the 2014-15 Wildcats
Head coach Tad Berkowitz enters his ninth season at the helm of the Wildcat program and his 10th season overall at Arizona. The Cats bring in a healthy mix of veteran leadership and fresh talent, as Arizona boasts two seniors (Robin Chou and Sumeet Shinde), four juniors (Naoki Takeda, Jason Jaruvang, Trevor James, Matt Dunn), and a sophomore (Will Kneale), while the program welcomes in three freshmen in Romain Boudaroua, Shoki Kasahara, and David Mushayev.

Junior Naoki Takeda paced Arizona in the fall, as he posted a team-high eight wins, while at one point stringing together five consecutive victories.

Freshman teammate Shoki Kasahara also showed some flashes of brilliance during the fall campaign, as he also was able to string together five wins in a row, including capturing a flight championship at the San Diego State Fall Invitational back in October. He also posted a team-best five doubles victories in fall play.

Cats in the Fall
David Mushayev: 2-5 (1-3)
Jason Jaruvang: 6-4 (3-3)
Matt Dunn: 4-5 (2-4)
Naoki Takeda: 8-3 (2-5)
Robin Chou: 2-2 (2-1)
Romain Boudaroua: 2-3 (2-3)
Shoki Kasahara: 7-6 (5-5)
Summet Shinde: DNP
Trevor James: 2-1 (2-1)
Will Kneale: DNP

( ) indicated fall doubles record

The Schedule
Arizona will take on 11 ranked opponents and play six NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago this season. The Cats will begin the spring slate with a season-long 13-match homestand.

Follow the Cats!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Arizona athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook.com/ArizonaAthletics), Twitter (@AZATHLETICS), Instagram (azathletics) and YouTube.com (Youtube.com/ArizonaAthletics). In addition, the men’s tennis team has established its own official Facebook (Facebook.com/ArizonaMensTennis), Twitter (@ArizonaMTennis), and Instagram (ArizonaMTennis) accounts