#9 Cats Set for Sweet 16 Match at #8 Columbia

TUCSON, Ariz.- No. 9 Arizona [9 seed] at No. 8 Columbia [8 seed]
When: Saturday, May 11 at 10:00 a.m. MST
Where: Philip & Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center, New York, N.Y.
Team Records: Arizona (26-3, 7-1 Pac-12), Columbia (22-3, 6-1 Ivy League)

Series
Arizona and Columbia have never met.

Previously On
Arizona secured its third Sweet 16 berth in four seasons with a 4-0 defeat of No. 24 Auburn on Saturday. The Cats won the doubles points thanks to wins by Herman Hoeyeraal and Eric Padgham as well as Sasha Rozin and Gustaf Strom.

Hoeyeraal went on to get the first singles win of the day and his 20th of dual match play this season, setting a program record. Nick Lagaev claimed the second singles point of the day with his 95th career singles win, and 22nd-ranked Colton Smith clinched the match with a straight-set win on court one.

How Sweep It Is
The Wildcats have yet to drop a team point in the 2024 NCAA Championships after sweeping Boise State and Auburn at home. Prior to the 4-0 wins over its NCAA Championships foes, Arizona defeated Stanford 4-0 in the championship match of the Pac-12 Tournament.

Pac-12 Honors
Wildcats Head Coach Clancy Shields won his third Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors after leading the Cats to a Pac-12 Regular Season Championship and the program's first Pac-12 Tournament Championship. Smith and Friend were recognized as Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year, the first tandem from a school outside of California to win the award.

Smith, Friend and Strom were all named to the All-Pac-12 First team while Lagaev and Hoeyeraal tabbed spots on the All-Pac-12 Second Team. Casper Christensen rounded out the group of honorees with All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention.

In the Rankings
Arizona is ranked ninth in the nation going into the NCAA Championships. Smith is the highest-ranked Wildcats singles player at No. 22 and is joined by Friend at No. 35 and Strom at 70th. Smith and Friend are ranked together in doubles at No. 40.

Columbia is ranked eighth nationally as a team. Michael Zheng is the top-ranked Lions singles player at No. 23 and is joined in the singles rankings by No. 100 Alex Kotzen. Zheng is ranked alongside Theo Winegar in doubles at No. 16.

Up Next
With a win Saturday, Arizona will travel to Stillwater, Okla., to take on the winner of No. 1 seed Ohio State and No. 16 seed Mississippi.