Tempe– Following Thursday’s frustrating loss to the No. 25 ranked Pepperdine, ASU’s men’s tennis team looked to bounce back early Friday morning, and they did just that in convincing fashion.
The Arizona State Sun Devils defeated the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks in dominant fashion, picking up all four points on the day.
According to head coach Matt Hill, through “sound fundamentals, simple tactics and staying focused all the way through the match,” the Sun Devils were able to pick up the win.
Leading the way for ASU was their first singles player Bor Artnak, who won his match (7-5, 5-4), ultimately being the decider in the match. Artnak is developing a reputation for picking up wins in courageous fashion. Thursday night, he won his match (7-6, 6-4).
Artnak went down in a hurry as the Lumberjacks’ first singles player, Dani Torres, came out swinging in the early portion of the match. However, with Artnak being a master of shot selection, he found a way to get the job done once again for the Sun Devils.
Another notable standout for the Sun Devils was Tanner Povey. Povey picked up a (6-4, 6-1) victory. Povey, the former five-star recruit for the Sun Devils in the class of 2023, continues to impress with his court play as well as his leadership.
Povey also described the “close friendship” he has developed with Daniel Phillips and the rest of his teammates for why he has come out with passion on the court.
In this match, ASU also dominated on the doubles courts. Povey and Phillips teamed up They picked up a (6-3) win over NAU’s Piotr Galus and Mati Lange.
Also picking up a win for the Devils in this match was Mikey Anderson and Nicola Cigna defeating NAU’s Jakub Volesky and Semen Agynskyy by a (6-2) final.
The Sun Devils will look to pick up another win today as they take on DePaul University at 4:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (MST) at the Whiteman Tennis Center. This will be an opportunity for “other players on the roster to get playing time” due to the packed short schedule, according to coach Hill.
