Following a 7-0 win over Michigan State, Arizona State men’s tennis now sits at 3-4 on the season, with all four of their losses coming against top 25 opponents.
After opening the season as a top 25 team, the Sun Devils’ season has gotten off to a bumpy start record-wise due to a grueling schedule and injuries to both their presumed number one singles player (senior Nathan Ponwith, who has not played all season) and the man who subsequently started the year at number one (senior Makey Rakotomalala, who has missed three of ASU’s last four matches with a foot injury).
Despite Ponwith’s absence, the Sun Devils opened the year with a 4-0 sweep of Grand Canyon before losing three straight matches to ranked opponents.
Eighth ranked TCU bested ASU 5-2, sweeping doubles play, before the Sun Devils went on the road to Tennessee and fell 4-0. ASU’s doubles earned the point against 14th ranked Oklahoma State, but the Sun Devils dropped four of six singles matches to lose the contest 4-3.
Across these three matches, freshman George Stoupe of New Zealand impressed at numbers five and six singles, as he went 2-1 and nearly secured ASU’s lone win against Tennessee, winning the first set before dropping the next two.
ASU then returned home for a convincing 6-1 win over Northern Arizona, winning each match but one in straight sets, as ASU junior Will Kirkman lost 11-9 in a third set tiebreak at number six singles.
Next, the Sun Devils traveled to Columbus to face second ranked Ohio State, who boasted four top 70 players and an undefeated 8-0 record, which they extended in a 7-0 win over ASU. The Sun Devils nearly won the doubles point after juniors Tim Ruehl and Andrea Bolla defeated the number one doubles team in the nation, but fell short as the freshman duo of Stoupe and Christian Lerby lost the deciding tiebreak at number three doubles. In singles, Ohio State was dominant, as they did not drop a set.
On the season as a whole, ASU’s number one doubles spot has been strong, where the 18th ranked pairing of Tim Ruehl and Andrea Bolla have posted a 4-1 record. Bolla has also performed well in singles, where he has gone 4-2 overall and 2-1 at both number one and two.
Lerby and Stoupe have also impressed, going 4-3 and 4-2 respectively as Lerby has handled singles duties at numbers three and four and Stoupe has played everywhere from four through six.
When Ponwith and Rakotomalala return, balance will be restored to an unexpectedly hectic season and several players will return to their expected roles. However, the early tests may have brought out the best in some of the Sun Devils, who still have a long way to go this year.
