Arizona men’s tennis has won four consecutive conference championships. A fifth could be in store after the Wildcats took down the Big 12’s top ranked team on Sunday afternoon.
Arizona
Arizona men’s tennis takes pole position of Big 12 race with win over No. 2 TCU
No. 15 Arizona swept No. 2 TCU by a score of 4-0 to move to 16-3 and 4-0 in the Big 12. Clancy Shields’ program has won 11 consecutive matches after starting the year 5-3.
Four conference matches remain, including home tilts versus ranked ASU and UCF. Arizona has a one match lead over UCF in the wins column, while every other team has at least one lost.
Arizona’s win against TCU – played in 100 degree heat at LaNelle Robson Tennis Center – was one of the program’s biggest results since joining the Big 12. TCU was the NCAA Tournament runner-up last season and perennially advances deep into the postseason.
“I have so much respect for (TCU),” Shields said. “They’ve been top five for 10 years. They’re a model of consistency. And they didn’t go away. We could have ended this in two hours, and they pushed and clawed their way back into this and we found a way to finish it.”
Arizona earned the crucial doubles point to jump out to an early lead. Alejandro Arcila and Cole Stelse won their doubles match 6-3, and Filip Gustafsson and Glib Sekachov won theirs in a 7-6 (7-2) tiebreak.
Sekachov secured Arizona’s first singles point with a 6-3, 6-2 win on court No. 5. The Wildcats won the first set in five of six singles matches.
Arizona took control when Gustafsson held off a fierce comeback attempt from TCU’s Oliver Bonding to win his match 6-1, 7-6 (6-3) on court No. 2.
“I was really impressed with Filip being up a set and 4-1 and nearly letting the guy back in it and then finding a way to finish the tiebreak,” Shields said. “Same thing in doubles. Finding a way to get that win on No. 1 doubles to clinch that match. That’s really hard.”
Leading 3-0, Arizona thought it might get a clinching point from Jay Friend, who led Duncan Chan 6-3, 5-7, 5-3. The match pitted the nation’s No. 3 ranked singles player (Friend) vs. No. 7 Chan.
Before Friend could seal the deal, Zoran Ludoski won his match 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 on court No. 4.
“For Zoran to get the win, it’s cool, and there’s a lot of people getting wins on our team.” Shields said. “To find wins on the court and they don’t just come from Jay Friend is really cool.”
The victory marked Arizona’s third win over a Top 30 team in the past week, as the UA defeated No. 28 Columbia on Tuesday and No. 8 Baylor on Thursday. Arizona’s string of success puts the program in firm footing to host an NCAA Tournament pod for a third consecutive season.
Early on this season, Arizona’s trajectory wasn’t so bloomy. Arizona dropped non-conference matches to Oklahoma, LSU and San Diego.
The Wildcats had a monumental task in replacing All-American Colton Smith and the ultra-reliable Casper Christensen, both of whom were seniors last season. Arizona brought in Arcila, a blue chip recruit out of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain, and relied heavily on sophomores Sekachov, Ludoski and Gustafsson.
“It’s a really young team, it’s really exciting,” Shields said. “I’m just really proud of this team because they bought into the culture of what this place is and we kept working and kept getting better.”
Now that Arizona has hit its stride, Shields isn’t putting any limit on what this group can accomplish. Arizona is looking to break through in the postseason after falling in the Sweet 16 the last two years.
Competing in the gauntlet that is the Big 12 prepares Arizona for what’s in store in the postseason, Shields said.
“It’s a really gritty conference,” Shields said. “We have a lot of really tough conditions. The Pac-12 was a lot of talent but a little bit soft. The Big 12 is talent and grit and we fit in just right with that.”
PHOENIX — Happy Wednesday!
We’re staying on top of the latest happenings from across the Valley, state, and our nation for Wednesday, July 15; here’s what you need to know as you start your day:
The monsoon is not done with us yet. A few scattered storms could pop up in the Valley later today. Until then, partly cloudy, hot, and humid with a high of 108º. Better storm chances arrive tomorrow.
The mother of a 21-year-old woman who was found dead near Lake Pleasant over the weekend is speaking about her daughter’s death to ABC15.
Arianna Jones, 21, was last known to be at her apartment near 59th and Northern avenues. When her family went to check on her, they said they found damage to her front door, and she was not there. Her family has had no contact with her since July 5.
A friend told police that she had planned to meet “an acquaintance” for a movie. Evidence shows the man, identified by police as Domonic Rodolico, had picked Jones up from her apartment and never returned.
On Saturday, July 11, officials located “decomposing human remains in this area along with additional evidence,” including movie theater cups and clothes.
Glendale police confirmed Monday that Rodolico was taken into custody on charges including first-degree murder. Police say he is being held on a $2 million cash bond.
Mother of Glendale woman found dead near Lake Pleasant speaks to ABC15
One person is dead, and four others are hurt after a multi-vehicle crash in Scottsdale.
Police say they were called to the crash at Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard around 4:45 p.m.
When officers arrived, they found six vehicles involved in the crash.
All told, Scottsdale police say five people were taken to the hospital for their injuries.
One person later died of their injuries. That person has not yet been identified.
abc15
Arizona’s 1st Congressional District has become one of the most watched races in the country, with political experts calling it a toss-up ahead of the primary election.
CD1 is among a small number of truly competitive House races, said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.
“We only have 16 tossups in the House in our Crystal Ball House ratings. Two of them are Arizona One and Arizona Six, so they’re really, really important,” Kondik said.
CD1 is home to about 820,000 people. The district includes northeast Phoenix, Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, and Cave Creek. Because the race is so competitive, campaigns are spending heavily to reach voters.
“There are a lot of people who live in the Phoenix area who don’t live in Arizona One. But they’re going to be seeing those ads for Arizona One anyway,” Kondik said.
Arizona’s 1st Congressional District race is one of the most competitive in the country
In a world where headlines often focus on what teenagers are doing wrong, one Valley band is giving people a reason to turn up the volume.
Anthem-based rock band The Deadline, made up of local teenagers, recently returned from a remarkable trip to Poland, where they performed for U.S. and NATO troops stationed near the Ukraine border.
The opportunity came after the young musicians caught the attention of Polish officials and continued building a reputation through Alice Cooper’s Proof Is in the Pudding competition.
What followed was a once-in-a-lifetime invitation to use their music to boost morale for troops serving far from home.
Arizona teens bring musical talent to audience of troops near Ukraine
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Maricopa County, Ariz., asked the court to affirm its determination that the location was a 30-auditorium mixed used movie theater worth nearly $29 million in full cash value and $12.5 million in limited value.
However, AMC’s expert appraiser didn’t err when he limited the property’s valuation to the 17 auditoriums the theater currently uses to show films, the court determined in an unsigned opinion posted Tuesday. …
The Week 7 matchup between K-State and Arizona State will feature two of the youngest coaches in all of college football: Kenny Dillingham and Collin Klein. They are tied for the youngest in the Power 4 conferences, and only Kirby Moore of Washington State (35) and Zach Kittley (34) are younger Division I coaches.
While Dillingham didn’t play football at Arizona State, like Klein, he is at his alma mater. An injury in his high senior year forced him to stop playing and get into coaching. He became the offensive coordinator at Chaparral High School at 21 years old, and was hired just two years later by Mike Norvell as an offensive analyst at Arizona State. He went back to Tempe in 2023, after spending the previous season as the offensive coordinator at Oregon.
Both of these guys are looking to lead their alma maters to a Big 12 Championship, and this is one of those games that could be pivotal in that pursuit.
K-State Early Opponent Preview Series: Nicholls| Washington State| Tulane| Cincinnati| Houston| Kansas
Offense
Quarterback Sam Leavitt wasn’t able to live up to the hype after leading the Sun Devils to the Big 12 Championship in 2024, and he announced he was transferring to LSU during the off-season. Dillingham and his staff were quick to fill the vacany, as they picked up former Kentucky quarterback Cutter Boley in the transfer portal.
Boley was the highest-rated quarterback to ever commit to Kentucky, as he was a consensus 4-star recruit. He had an up-and-down freshman year in 2025, as he threw for 2,160 yards, 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. In a loss to Tennessee, he showed off the talent by throwing for 330 yards and five touchdowns.
The offense lost two great playmakers in Kaleek Brown and Jordan Tyson. Brown was one of the best running backs in the Big 12, as he rushed for 1,141 yards and 4 touchdowns. Tyson had to deal with injuries, but he still had 61 catches for 788 yards and eight touchdowns and ended up going No. 9 to the New Orleans Saints in the 2026 NFL Draft.
One guy who could make a strong impact in the Arizona State offense is Boston College transfer Reed Harris. He had 39 catches for 673 yards and five touchdowns. He is a matchup nightmare, as he towers over defensive backs with his 6-foot-5 frame. He plays a style similar to Tyson, and he stands three inches taller and 17 pounds heavier.
Defense
There are a lot of changes on the defense at Arizona State, but defensive lineman C.J. Fites is a player who is capable of being an anchor on a defense. He took a major leap last season, finishing the year with 27 tackles and 6.5 sacks. He was named a preseason All-Big 12 defensive tackle and is a guy who figures to hear his name in the 2027 NFL Draft. Fite’s presence will force offenses to throw double-teams at him, and should open up opportunities for others to get after the quarterback.
The two leading tacklers last year were linebackers Jordan Crook and Keyshaun Elliott, who had 101 and 98 tackles, respectively. With both of these players gone, Martell Hughes is a guy who the Sun Devils will need to step up.
While there were losses in the off-season, the Sun Devils’ secondary has a chance to be one of the better units in the country. They bring back two very talented safeties in Adrian Wilson and Jessiah McGrew. The cornerback duo of Rodney Bimage Jr. and Montana Warren was good, but the arrival of LSU transfer Ashton Stamps.
He made major news last year after he hit the transfer portal after playing in only one game against Louisiana Tech. While it was a weird year, he is the type of talent that could give the Sun Devils the best secondary in the Big 12.
Schedule
In today’s college football, many teams are becoming hesitant to take big challenges during the non-conference season. However, that isn’t the case with the Sun Devils, as they go to College Station to take on Texas A&M in Week 2. After that game, the schedule lightens up. Including the matchup against K-State, four of Arizona State’s next five games will be at home.
The challenging part of the Sun Devils’ conference schedule is that some of their toughest matchups are on the road. They have road trips at Texas Tech, BYU, and Arizona, who are looked at as contenders in the Big 12.
Outlook
Dillingham has been outstanding early in his tenure in Tempe. After going 3-9 in his first year in 2023, he helped lead the Sun Devils to an 11-2 record and an appearance in the College Football Playoff during the 2024 season. Last year, they finished the year 8-5, despite losing quarterback Sam Leavitt early in the year.
The Big 12 is wide-open, and the Sun Devils once again to have the pieces to compete for a spot in the conference championship.
Game Info
Date: Saturday, October, 24
Time: TBD
TV: TBD
Location: Mountain America Stadium
Series history: Arizona State leads the all-time series, 6-1. The Sun Devils have dominated this series, and won the most recent game 24-14 in 2024. The only time the Wildcats have knocked off Arizona State was in the 2002 Holiday Bowl.
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