Arizona wins 2024 Pac-12 Men’s Tennis Tournament title
OJAI, Calif. – The No. 2-seeded Arizona Wildcats defeated Stanford to earn their first-ever Pac-12 Tennis Tournament title, knocking off the top-seeded Cardinal, 4-0, on Saturday evening at Libbey Park in Ojai.
It was an historic win for the Wildcats, as not only was it the first time a men’s program other than UCLA or USC earned the tournament title since the team format was introduced in 2012, but it was also the first time a team other than UCLA, USC, or Stanford won the Pac-12 men’s tournament in any format in the 69-year history of the Pac-12’s participation at The Ojai.
Arizona stormed out of the gates with a doubles win, earning the first team point courtesy of a strong 6-3 win from Alexander Rozin/Gustof Strom on Court 3 and a clutch win from Jay Friend and Colton Smith on Court 1. The pair came back from a 5-2 deficit in the tiebreaker to win 10-8 in the lone doubles set.
Arizona secured its three singles points in a series of hard-fought matches. After a win from Strom on Court 3, Friend battled back from an 0-6 loss in set two to a 6-1 win in set three, picking up the victory over Stanford’s Samir Banerjee. Nick Lagaev clinched the deciding match on Court 6, going 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to earn the deciding team point.
The Wildcats additionally knocked off No. 7-seed USC (quarterfinals) and No. 6-seed Oregon (semifinals) en route to their tournament crown.
No. 2 Arizona 4, Stanford 0
DOUBLES:
1. Jay Friend/Colton Smith (ARIZ) def. Max Basing/Nico Godsick (STAN), 7-6 (8)
2. Samir Banerjee/Nishesh Basavareddy (STAN) def. Herman Hoeyeraal/Eric Padgham (ARIZ), 6-2
3. Alexander Rozin/Gustof Strom (ARIZ) def. Aryan Chaudary/Harsh Parikh (STAN), 6-3
Order of finish: 2-3-1
SINGLES:
1. Nishesh Basavareddy (STAN) vs. Colton Smith (ARIZ)
2. Jay Friend (ARIZ) def. Samir Banerjee, 6-2, 0-6, 6-1
3. Gustaf Strom (ARIZ) def. Max Basing (STAN), 6-2, 6-3
4. Herman Hoeyeraal (ARIZ) led Kyle Kang (STAN), 5-7, 7-6 (5), 5-3, unf.
5. Neel Rajesh (STAN) led Casper Christensen (ARIZ), 7-6 (1), 3-6, 2-1, unf.
6. Nick Lagaev (ARIZ) def. Nico Godsick (STAN), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Order of finish: 3-2-6