The offseason is here, with all of Arizona’s sports done for 2024-25 season and the 2025-26 campaigns still a little ways away.
Which makes this a great time to step back and see how all of the Wildcats’ programs are doing and how they’ve handled the move from the Pac-12 to the Big 12
Over the next few weeks we’ll take a look at each of the UA’s men’s and women’s athletic programs to see what shape they’re in and what prospects they have for the near future. We’ll break down each team and evaluate how it is performing under its current coaching staff, looking at the state of the program before he/she arrived and comparing it to now while also evaluating how that program fits into its new conference.
Next up: Ryan Stotland’s women’s tennis team
How it looked before
Vicky Maes, one of the greatest players in school history, coached Arizona for 17 seasons, but her final two years were both below .500 including an 0-10 mark in Pac-12 play in 2018. A fresh face was needed and the Wildcats found it in Stotland, who had been an assistant at the UA from 2008-12 during which the program made two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Prior to returning to Tucson, Stotland spent six seasons in charge of Fresno State where he won four consecutive Mountain West Conference titles (five overall) and a pair of conference tournaments to earn NCAA bids.
Where things stand now
Stotland has guided Arizona through its most successful stretch in 20 years, reaching consecutive NCAA tourneys for the first time since 2011-12 while finishing with at least a .500 record all seven seasons he’s been in charge. Stotland is 104-80 with the Wildcats, going 19-11 in 2024-25 with an 8-5 record in their first season in the Big 12 along with a berth in the conference tournament quarterfinals.
Athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois rewarded Stotland’s success with a 3-year contract extension, locking him in through 2028.
The Wildcats are set to return five of their top six singles players led by Tanvi Nerandran, a Tucson native who was 7-4 in Big 12 singles matches and was named the conference’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Also coming back are Josie Usereau, the 2025 ITA Southwest Region Most Improved Player, and Martyna Ostrzygalo.
Arizona added a player from the transfer portal in Maria Garcia, who as a freshman went 5-1 in singles matches and 18-11 in doubles.
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Arizona annually played every Pac-12 school that fielded a women’s tennis squad, but with all 16 Big 12 schools competing it only will see 13 season each. In its first year the Wildcats skipped UCF and Houston, who finished second and last in the league, respectively.
The 8-5 record was the program’s best in conference play since 2014, good enough for fifth place, and the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal loss was to a Baylor team that was one of six from the league to make the NCAA field. ASU, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and UCF also qualified, with Tech hosting and OSU reaching the Sweet 16.
One big question
Can the Wildcats win one (or more) in the NCAA tourney? Stotland’s last season as a UA assistant, in 2012, was also the last time Arizona advanced beyond the first round. It was swept by Oklahoma in 2024 and lost 4-1 to Illinois this season, while the 2014 squad fell 4-3 to Florida State.
If Garcia pans out as a transfer, particularly to help improve the UA’s chances of winning doubles points, and former 5-star recruit Stephanie Shogreen has a breakout sophomore year like Usereau did, the chances of seeing the second round and beyond go up immensely. So do being in the mix to host an NCAA regional.