As the calendar inches towards May, NCAA spring sports are gearing up for the postseason.
Arizona will be represented in the NCAA golf, tennis and track and field championships over the next couple of months, making it a good time to spotlight some of the top Wildcats athletes competing this spring.
This year is turning into another competitive spring season for Arizona’s Olympic sports. The UA has four programs ranked in the top 30 nationally: No. 8 men’s tennis, No. 20 men’s golf, No. 26 women’s
tennis and No. 29 women’s golf. Additionally, both track and field teams have individual athletes competing at the highest collegiate levels.
As the NCAA Championships get closer, here is a look at six Arizona athletes to keep an eye on.
Men’s tennis: Filip Gustafsson
Gustafsson, a sophomore from Sweden, has put together an excellent season, highlighted by a Big 12 Player of the Week honor earlier this month. Gustafsson is ranked No. 76 in singles and together with Glib Sekachov is ranked No. 19 in doubles. The pair have a 19-4 record, to go along with Gustafsson’s 19-11 singles record.
As the second-best singles player on the team behind All-American senior Jay Friend, Gustafsson has been critical in Arizona’s rise to the No. 8 ranked team in the country. When Gustafsson and Friend both bring their A game, the Wildcats are unshakable.
Gustafsson will play a big role in whether Arizona advances past the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.
Women’s tennis: Martyna Ostrzygalo
The junior by way of Edmonton, Canada competes at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles for the Wildcats. Ostrzygalo has been reliable all year as Arizona fought through some early-season injuries to get on track in Big 12 play.
Ostrzygalo and teammate Tanvi Narendran form the Wildcats’ top doubles pair. The experienced duo are 7-2 on the season. Ostrzygalo is 15-9 in singles action.
Arizona is on its way to a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Men’s and women’s tennis brackets will be revealed on Monday.
Men’s golf: Filip Jakubcik
Jakubic is putting together a memorable senior season that has resulted in multiple Big 12 Golfer of the Week and a semifinalist nod for the Ben Hogan Award, given to a men’s college golfer who excels on and off the course.
The Czech Republic native enters next week’s Big 12 Championships ranked in the top 45 nationally. Jakubcik has placed in the top 10 three times this season, including first place at the N.I.T. event at Omni Tucson National in January and second at the Arizona Thunderbirds Intercollegiate in March.
Jakubcik struggled, however, at The Western Intercollegiate in Santa Cruz, Calif. last week, placing fifth out of Arizona’s six entrants with a 5-over par. While the performance was out of the ordinary, it’s a reminder that Arizona’s postseason fate very well could come down to Jakubcik’s swings.
Of note: Tucson’s The Gallery Golf Club is hosting an NCAA Regional May 18-20 which could give Arizona a leg up as the program looks to return to the NCAA Championship after missing it last year.
Women’s golf: Charlotte Back
Back, a junior from Germany, is Arizona’s most reliable golfer this season with a 71.3 scoring average. Her scoring average is more than a stroke better than the rest of the team.
Back ranks No. 35 nationally and has three top 10 finishes to her name and has finished in the top 15 in seven of eight events she’s competed in. In Back’s most recent outing, she shot a 4-under 66 on the last day of the Charles Schwab Women’s Collegiate, the lowest round of the day of any competitor.
Interestingly, Back didn’t compete with Arizona at the Huntington Bank Collegiate in Dallas earlier this month.
Back should be in action at the Big 12 Championship, which runs Thursday through Saturday at The Dallas Athletic Club. Arizona won last year’s Big 12 title thanks in large part to Back’s top 10 finish.
Men’s track and field: Lawi Ngetich
Only a freshman, Ngetich has put up wicked fast times in his first spring with the Wildcats. The Kenyan ranks in the top 25 nationally in both the 800m and the 1500m.
Ngetich set a personal best time of 3:38.14 in the 1500m last weekend at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Los Angeles. The time ranks 18th in the country. He ran a 1:46.50 in the 800m at the Duel in the Desert in Tucson, good enough for the 24th-best time.
Ngetich is also one of four Arizona freshmen to run sub four minutes in the mile. He will an opportunity to earn multiple All-American honors at NCAA Championships in June.
Women’s track and field: Hollan Powers
Powers, a grad student in her fourth year competing in outdoors heptathlon, is one of the country’s most well-rounded collegiate track and field athletes. Powers competes in seven disciplines ranging from hurdles to high jump to javelin.
Powers has the 10th best heptathlon score in the nation to date, which she set at the Bryan Clay Multis. The Tennessee native also ranks nationally in the 100m hurdles, long jump and high jump
Additionally, Powers’ teammates Emma Gates and Paris Mikinski both rank No. 11 nationally in the high jump.
Arizona will have home field advantage for Big 12 Championships, which take place at Drachman Stadium May 14-16.
