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.”
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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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Chuck D, left, and Flavor Flav of Public Enemy.
Sanjay Suchak
Two Arizona Public Enemy concerts in one year? As Chuck D. might say, bring the noise.
After a searing set in February at Tempe’s Innings Festival, the legendary hip-hop group will return to metro Phoenix on Saturday, Oct. 24, to perform as part of the Arizona State Fair’s concert series.
The concert starts at 7 p.m. inside the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum with no opening act.
Public Enemy joins a growing lineup of artists set to perform at the 2026 Arizona State Fair, which runs weekends from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1.
Previously announced Coliseum Concert Series performers include alt-rockers Gin Blossoms on Friday, Oct. 2, R&B/pop star Becky G on Friday, Oct. 9 and punk favorites The Offspring on Friday Oct. 16.
Few hip-hop acts are as iconic as Public Enemy. Fronted by Chuck D. and Flavor Flav, the group has performed since the early ‘80s and has spent decades mixing politically charged lyrics with fierce bests on classic tracks like “Fight the Power,” “Bring the Noise” and “Welcome to the Terrordome.”
Public Enemy’s upcoming concert marks the first time the iconic hip-hop act has performed at the Arizona State Fair and their latest in a series of Valley gigs. It also continues a decades-long history of Valley performances.
Over the years, Public Enemy has played venues large and small across metro Phoenix, from arenas and stadium shows to concert halls Tempe’s Marquee Theatre. The group also famously staged an impromptu performance at the long-running local hip-hop event The Blunt Club back in 2006.
When do Arizona State Fair concert tickets go on sale?
Tickets for Gin Blossoms and Russell Dickerson are already available through azstatefair.com/concerts.
Tickets for Public Enemy at the fair go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday through azstatefair.com/concerts. A presale for subscribers to the Fair Fandom newsletter begins at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
Reserved-seat upgrades are available for all four concerts. Each concert ticket also includes admission to the Arizona State Fair.
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