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Editor’s note: With so many sports going on this spring, we are going to restart the Wildcat Wrap, a weekly recap that will focus on the Arizona programs that we do not have the resources to cover on a regular basis but are certainly worthy of recognition.
The No. 24 ranked Arizona men’s tennis team swept New Mexico State in two meetings Sunday as senior Alejandro Reguant broke the program record for most career Spring wins and singles wins (75) by winning one doubles and two singles. With the victories, Arizona moves to 7-1 on the season.
Reguant, a fifth-year senior, leads a Wildcats team that is poised to be one of the top programs in the Pac-12 this spring. Arizona already has one victory over a top 25 program coming against Pepperdine and could pick up another top 25 win this Friday when the Wildcats host No. 23 Texas Tech.
“I’m very happy with the team,” Reguant said, before getting showered. “We’ve been putting in the work since the fall. Everyone but one player was here in the fall, working every day, day in and day out. Same here in the spring.”
Post Match Interview with Captain Alejandro Reguant gets icy ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/i6CtRtTE5f
— Arizona Men's Tennis (@ArizonaMTennis) February 14, 2021
Women’s tennis
Women’s tennis also picked up a win over the week, defeating Grand Canyon 4-3.
After dropping a doubles and singles match, Arizona needed to win four of the five remaining matches and did just that. Jelena Lukic, Abby Amos and Gitte Heynemans all won in straight sets, while Talya Zandberg closed the match with a three-set victory
Post match interview with Talya Zandberg pic.twitter.com/CAjkF4rwYr
— Arizona Women's Tennis (@ArizonaWTennis) February 13, 2021
With the win Arizona moves to 6-1 ahead of a road trip to face Kansas and Kansas State this coming weekend.
Track and Field
Several track and field athletes posted winning performances as Arizona put together a strong showing over the weekend at the Texas Tech Shootout.
Samantha Noenning broke a 9-year old school record in the shotput with a toss of 18.25m (59-10.5). Her toss was the best NCAA mark in the country through Saturday and netted her the event win.
Shannon Meisberger ran a 1:19.60 in the 600yd race, which is the best time in the NCAA so far. Meisberger earned a personal record and demolished the previous school record of 1:21.52 set by Ruth Waithera-Nganga 38 years ago.
“That was huge,” head coach Fred Harvey said, according to ArizonaWildcats.com. “As coaches, our expectations are for that level of performance. Track and field numbers just don’t lie, so we can see that they were capable and it was really exciting to see them actually be able to put their names in the books.”
Also on the women’s side, Alyssa Blockburger won the 800m with a personal record of 2:10.46, while Lillian Lowe won the high-jump contest with a clearance of 1.76m (5-9.25).
Israel Oloyde gave the Wildcats men a win with a school and meet record weight throw of 22.87m (75-0.5).
Women’s golf
A trio of women’s golf underclassmen competed at the two-day, three-round Lamkin Invitational in San Diego, with two placing in the top 10.
Therese Warner shot 4-over par in a tie for fifth place, which is her best career finish. Gile Bite Starkute shot 10-over par in a tie for 10th place. Maya Benita placed 50th in her second ever collegiate event.
“Therese played solid this week in tough conditions,” head coach Laura Ianello told the school athletic site. “The golf course was playing difficult, and we saw a lot of progress in her game this week, especially with her putting. Gile also showed a lot of promised with her 2-over par score today. I foresee some great things ahead for our team and hopefully some victories as well.”
Arizona will open its spring season in earnest Monday when it competes at the three-day Sun Devil Winter Classic in Scottsdale. Yu-Sang and Vivian Hou are back with the program, making the Wildcats an instant contender for any event in which the sisters are competing.
Vivian is the top amateur golfer in the world according to World Amateur Rankings, while Yu-Sang was a WGCA Second-Team All-American last season.