Arizona men’s tennis defeats UCF to win Big 12 Championship

For the fourth year in a row and the first time in the Big 12 era, the Arizona men’s tennis program are conference championships.

The Wildcats avenged a pair of regular-season losses to UCF on Sunday, topping the Knights 4-2 in Waco to win the Big 12 title. No. 2 seed Arizona won four singles points over No. 4 UCF, which won the doubles point.

The win all but assures that Arizona will host an NCAA Tournament regional for a third straight year under head coach Clancy Shields. The No. 11-ranked Wildcats enter the NCAAs with a 24-4 record and are on a nine-match winning streak.

Arizona didn’t make it easy on itself Sunday as the Wildcats dropped the doubles point despite having an early lead on multiple courts. Arizona’s lone doubles win came on court No. 2, where Colton Smith and Alexander Rozin defeated the UCF pair 6-3.

Arizona bounced back quickly in singles play, with No. 5 Jay Friend getting the Wildcats on the board first with a 6-2, 6-4 win on the second court. Moments later, Arizona scored its second point when Casper Christensen defeated his opponent 6-3, 6-3 on the sixth court.

No. 4 Smith gave Arizona its third point with a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 82 Yassine Dlimi on the top court. Arizona’s Rozin clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-3 victory on the fourth court.

Two matches were left unfinished.

Arizona undoubtedly entered Sunday with extra motivation to beat UCF, which upset the Wildcats in Tucson in January as part of the ITA Kickoff Weekend, then beat Arizona again in Orlando in March.

The Big 12 title continues Arizona’s intra-conference success under Shields. The Wildcats won the 2022, 2023 and 2024 Pac-12 regular season championships as well as the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament.

This is Arizona’s second Big 12 title in the past week, adding to the women’s golf team’s conference championship on Thursday.

Men’s tennis will find out its postseason seeding during the NCAA Selection Show, which airs Monday, April 28 at 2:30 p.m. PST.