(Photo: Marie Obsuna/Sun Devil Athletics)
After kicking off the season with losses to Duke and No. 1 Wake Forest, the Arizona State men’s tennis team will hit the road once again as it travels to Fort Worth, Texas, to face No. 20 Oklahoma State and either No. 22 Texas Christian or Loyola Marymount for the ITA Kickoff Weekend.
The Sun Devils will continue their battle against top-notch opponents in their non-conference slate. The team is embracing one of the toughest schedules in the country for the second straight season since being reinstated last year after not having a program since 2008.
Despite starting 0-2 (4-3 loss to Duke, 5-2 loss to No. 1 Wake Forest) and falling out of the Oracle/ITA rankings, ASU has made an early impact right out of the gate, winning the doubles point against both of its opponents last week. The performances from its doubles pairings have been the biggest strength of the team after the first weekend.
The dynamic duo of sophomore Makey Rakotomalala and graduate transfer Justin Roberts are off to a great start after a perfect 2-0 weekend on the road. The pairing has played an important role in winning the crucial doubles point in deciding matches.
Meanwhile, juniors Dominik Kellovsky and Nathan Ponwith, a pair of new transfers to the Sun Devils’ program, also left an early impression in a crucial tie-breaking win against the No. 1 Demon Deacons to seal the deal and clinch the doubles point.
Another strength in singles has been sophomore Tim Ruehl, who was just recently named the Pac-12 Player of the Week for his outstanding solo performance in the opening weekend of action.
Ruehl went 2-0 in singles play and picked up his first win over a ranked opponent, defeating Wake Forest’s sophomore No. 80 Rrezart Cungu 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 last Saturday.
Rakotomalala also earned a singles victory in straight sets this weekend against Duke’s junior Robert Levine with a 6-4, 6-2 score to earn the Devils a singles point to back up Ruehl’s impressive performance.
OKLAHOMA STATE
Oklahoma State heads into this weekend ranked in the Top-25 for the 53rd consecutive week. Not only that, but the Pokes are also currently riding a three-match winning streak after sweeping the opening weekend of the season against Omaha, Creighton and Arkansas (which received votes in the Jan. 23 Oracle/ITA rankings).
The Sun Devils need to keep an eye out for Oklahoma State’s singles as it is currently undefeated this season to this point.
As of Oracle/ITA’s last singles rankings update in November, no Oklahoma State players were ranked. However, that could change come Feb. 6.
After playing Oklahoma State, the Sun Devils have the chance to play either No. 22 TCU or Loyola Marymount.
TCU
The Horned Frogs are 0-1 to start the season after losing to the University of Tulsa this past weekend. TCU went on to only win two singles matches after dropping the doubles point to fall 4-2.
One of the two singles victories came from senior No. 14 Alex Rybakov over Tulsa’s sophomore Josh Goodger in a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win.
The other TCU singles win came from junior Alastair Gray, who defeated senior No. 55 Majed Kilani in a 6-4, 6-2 victory.
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
Meanwhile, the Lions are also coming off a loss from last weekend in their home opener against Fresno State. LMU fell to the Bulldogs by a mere score of 4-3.
The Lions won the doubles point, which is a strength that the Sun Devils also have within their team.
However, they then fell in singles play when junior Cagatay Sake defeated LMU’s freshman Austin Di Giulio in a close match finishing 7(7)-6(5), 7(6)-6(1).
The Sun Devils will face the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday at 1 p.m. MST and will either square off against TCU or Loyola Marymount on Sunday at noon to close out the weekend.
