(Photo: Alex Roddier/WCSN)
After losing to two teams ranked in the top-10 in the nation in then-No. 6 Baylor (2-5) and then-No. 10 TCU (3-4), No. 47 Arizona State will look to rebound against in-state rival No. 25 Arizona in Tucson on Saturday afternoon for a rivalry matchup in the Territorial Cup.
The Sun Devils (7-10, 0-2 Pac-12) will look to earn their first conference win of the season against a talented Arizona (14-3, 0-2 Pac-12) team that has dominated of late, handedly winning each of their last 3 matches.
Every match the rest of the way looms large for the ASU with a postseason berth on the line, but against the program’s biggest rival, this weekend specifically holds a little more weight than normal.
“They know when we play Arizona it’s going to be a war, “ASU coach Matt Hill said. “Naturally this one means a little more… we’re also at a stage in the season where every match is super important to us as we are trying to make the tournament and improve our national ranking.”
Graduate student Justin Roberts has been on a roll as of late for ASU, winning five consecutive matches, including victories against both Baylor and TCU’s No. 3 singles players in No. 82 Will Little (7-5, 6-1) and Reese Stalder (4-6, 6-3,6-1)
After playing for Hill at South Florida, Roberts has been a calming presence for this young Sun Devils team setting the tone for what the second-year ASU coach wants on and off the court.
“He has a lot of experience leading, and he has been on one of my teams before, so he understands what I want, “Hill said. “It’s invaluable. You can’t put a price tag on that.”
Roberts and the team will have a tough task this weekend as the Sun Devils travel south. Despite the fact that the Wildcats only possess one player ranked in the most recent update of the Oracle/ITA singles rankings, they still remain a hot team as evidenced by their 14-3 record.
This weekend will mark the 11th time this year that the Sun Devils will face a ranked opponent and the 10th time they will face one on the road.
Having the third-hardest strength of schedule in the country has challenged the Sun Devils this season, but it’s also gotten them used to a higher level of tennis than they are likely going to see during their upcoming stretch run.
“Even though we’ve gotten punched in the mouth a lot, I’m really impressed with how this team continues to be resilient and tough,” Hill Said. “It hasn’t been an easy road, but it’s been a good road with the way they’re handling it and the way they’re improving.
After Sunday’s match, ASU will have an extremely home-heavy schedule the rest of the way with five of the seven remaining regular-season matches set to be played at Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe.
