Citizen Staff Writer
BRYAN LEE
brylee@tucsoncitizen.com
Pressure? What pressure? University of Arizona tennis player Andres Carrasco was too busy with his two-set blast of steam to care.
A victory against old-time bully Stanford was going to happen.
“I haven’t begun to feel the glow yet,” Carrasco said after Arizona’s Tad Berkowitz had “by far” the biggest win in his four-year UA coaching career.
The No. 20 Cats won 4-2 against No. 8 Stanford on Friday, stayed undefeated at home (14-0) and gave notice, according to Berkowitz, that they are a national contender.
It was the third time in 63 tries that the Cats (17-2, 2-1 Pac-10) have beaten the Cardinal.
“These guys fight match after match,” Berkowitz said. “We win with grit. It wasn’t pretty today, it was ugly, but it doesn’t have to be pretty.”
Jay Goldman provided a personal upset by beating Bradley Klahn in straight sets 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 at No. 1 singles.
The format was changed because of the day’s wind conditions. The singles were scheduled first and if a team got four points, the doubles would be eliminated.
The Cats have been strong all year on the back singles end and Pat Metham and Jason Zafiros were true to form to set up the shocker.
Then Goldman topped Klahn in the first set in a battle of lefties. He sailed out 5-1 in the second set before his foe rallied back to 5-4.
“You naturally sort of relax,” Goldman said, “and he was trying to psych me a little and I thought he was making desperate moves.
Carrasco lost 6-2 in the first set before winning the final two 6-3, 6-3 over Richard Wire at No. 3 singles.
“I needed to get momentum, I knew it would come,” he said. “It was Stanford. It gave us all an edge. The pressure was on them.”
UA faces visiting California at 1 p.m. Saturday.
UA track and field
The wind didn’t blow so well for Arizona senior Shevell Quinley on Friday.
In good position to contend for the heptathlon title and earn an early NCAA track and field qualifying score, Quinley, as an official remarked “went down like she was shot” on the first turn of the 800-meter run, the final event in the Jim Click Shootout.
The sudden pop of a left hamstring on the first turn of the first lap on a blustery day at Roy P. Drachman Stadium doomed Quinley to an eighth-place finish.
Disappointing, but certainly not disastrous, for her season plans.
“I guess I won’t be competing (in Saturday’s all-day Jim Click Shootout),” said Quinley.
Injuries, she said, are part of the game, and as a senior she knows the drill. She has been nursing soreness of the same hamstring since the end of the indoor season.
Quinley, a three-time All-American heptathlon athlete, went into the day fourth in the event. Before the 800, she had a nice javelin performance, losing by 37 centimeters after a toss of 37.56 meters.
Thursday, she was fifth in the 100 meters (14.19 seconds), third in the high jump (5 feet, 5 1/4 inches), fifth in the shot put (37-3 3/4) and fourth in the 200 (25.52).
“I love the versatility of the hep, but it means you have to work hard every day on each event,” she said.
Arizona sophomore Chris McGovern provided some dramatics in the two-day decathlon, clearing 15-7 inches in the pole vault, matching a career best.
Ex-Wildcat Jake Arnold won the event after clearing 15-11 but missing at 16-2 3/4.
UA softball
The UA softball team was no-hit for the first time in almost nine years Friday, losing 6-0 to No. 3 Washington in Seattle.
The last time the Wildcats didn’t record a hit came against Southern Mississippi’s Courtney Blades in the Women’s College World Series in May 2000.
Friday, Washington’s Danielle Lawrie (20-3) struck out 12 and walked one in seven innings.
The No. 9-ranked Wildcats (31-8, 3-1) were down 2-0 before Washington broke the game open with four runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Jennifer Martinez (7-2) took the loss for UA, allowing 10 hits on four earned runs in six innings.
Washington is 29-5 overall and 2-2 in Pac-10 play. The Wildcats will face No. 7 UCLA at 3 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday in Los Angeles.
UA women’s tennis
The Wildcats dropped to 10-6 with a 7-0 loss at No. 10 Stanford on the road Friday.
UA faces No. 8 California in Berkeley at noon Saturday.