The most anticipated college tennis match in Tucson history lived up to the hype—and then some. With extra tickets hastily printed to accommodate the surging crowd, the Arizona Wildcats delivered a dramatic comeback for the ages on Saturday afternoon at LaNelle Robson Tennis Center.
Down 3-1 and facing elimination, the Wildcats refused to fold. Three hours of relentless tennis later, Arizona punched its ticket to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Oklahoma. The eighth-seeded Wildcats (24-4) now set their sights on top-seeded Wake Forest, the defending NCAA champions, in Thursday's quarterfinals in Athens, Georgia.
For a program that had fallen in its previous four Sweet 16 appearances—including three straight—this breakthrough felt especially sweet. And for the first time, Arizona had the home-court advantage, with temperatures pushing triple digits and a crowd of over 500 packing the stands.
The match started ominously for the Wildcats. Oklahoma (20-7) grabbed the doubles point and won in straight sets at No. 2 and No. 4 singles. Arizona's lone bright spot early came from sophomore Glib Sekachov, who cruised 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5 singles.
"We got down 3-1 and I think the guys just said, you know what? This is destiny," said Arizona coach Clancy Shields. "It's supposed to happen this year. We've been to the Sweet 16, but we haven't gotten any further. You saw how the guys buckled down to make it."
The momentum shifted when Arizona won first-set tiebreakers in two of three remaining matches. Junior Sasha Rozin sparked the comeback at No. 3 singles, grinding out a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4) victory. Senior Jay Friend, after trailing a break to Oklahoma's Luis Alvarez at No. 1 singles, edged the first-set tiebreaker 8-6.
But the drama was far from over. Friend dropped his second set 7-5, and freshman Alejandro Arcilo did the same at No. 6 singles after winning the first 6-4. Arcilo then fell behind a break in the third set before catching fire, winning the last three games to take the set 6-4 and even the match at 3-3.
With the team score tied, all eyes turned to Court 1. The entire Arizona roster and the roaring crowd of 500-plus surrounded the court for the deciding set between Friend and Alvarez. In that moment, with history on the line, the Wildcats proved they were ready for their biggest stage yet.