Wildcat Wrap: Arizona men’s tennis earns historic sweep of Stanford, Cal

Editor’s note: With so many sports going on this winter and spring, we are re-introducing the Wildcat Wrap, a weekly recap that will focus on the Arizona programs that we do not have the time to cover on a regular basis but are certainly worthy of recognition.

Arizona men’s tennis solidified its position atop the Pac-12 standings over the weekend with a home sweep of Stanford and Cal, two programs the Wildcats have historically struggled against.

On Friday, No. 18 Arizona took down No. 14 Stanford 4-2, earning the doubles point and three singles points. It was just the second win over Stanford in program history.

The Wildcats’ Jonas Ziverts upset the No. 2 ranked player in the nation, Stanford’s Arthur Fery, on court No. 1. Carlos Hassey clinched the victory with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win on court No. 6.

Arizona defeated Cal 4-1 on Sunday for the program’s first win over the Golden Bears since 2004.

The UA swept doubles competition and earned a trio of singles points to get the victory. Gustaf Strom clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-1 win on court No. 2.

Arizona (17-5) is now 4-0 in the Pac-12 and has a realistic chance to go into the conference championships undefeated in league play. The Wildcats close out their home season Friday against Utah at 2 p.m. PT.

Women’s swimming and diving

Arizona’s Delaney Schnell was named Pac-12 Diver of the Year for the second consecutive year, while her coach Dwight Dumais was named Pac-12 Diving Coach of the Year.

The award is voted on by the league’s coaches.

Schnell, a senior, repeated as Pac-12 champion in the 1-meter springboard (332.55) and platform (312.55) events at the conference championships. At the NCAA Championships, she placed second in the platform (345.10), tied for fourth in the 3-meter (376.20) and fifth in the 1-meter (339.05).

Dumais, a. former All-American diver at Stanford, coached Arizona to 161 points at the Pac-12 Championships.

Beach volleyball

The Wildcats went 3-0 at the Islander Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas over the weekend, defeating Houston Baptist and Texas A&M Corpus-Christi by a score of 4-1 and Arizona Christian by a score of 5-0.

No. 1 pair Alex Parkhurst and Alana Rennie went 2-1 in their matches, with the one loss coming to Texas A&M Corpus Christi’s top pair.

“This weekend we showed a great deal of maturity, patience and all around good skill in what was a very challenging event given the conditions,” coach Steve Walker said, according to Arizona Athletics. “Although we’re no strangers to playing in such steady wind, it can really test you and we stood up that challenge quite well.”

The Wildcats (14-5, 2-2 in Pac-12 play) travel to Palo Alto this weekend for the Pac-12 North Invitational, where they’ll face Oregon, Utah, USC and Stanford.

Women’s tennis

Arizona was swept at home over the weekend by Stanford and Cal, falling to both Bay Schools by a score of 7-0.

Lexi Ryngler and Kayla Wilkins won their doubles match against Stanford on the No. 3 court, while Kirsten Prelle and Salma Ziouti won their doubles match against Cal on the No. 1. court.

Arizona (14-8, 2-5 in Pac-12 play) heads to the Rocky Mountain schools this weekend, first taking on Utah Friday at 12:30 p.m. PT and then Colorado Sunday at 9 a.m. PT.