Under the lights last night at the Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe, the Arizona State Men’s Tennis team was swept by the No. 9 USC Trojans and extended their losing streak to three games.
Entering the match, ASU was looking to bounce back into the win column after starting 0-2 in Pac-12 play. Following losses from No. 33 California, No. 24 Stanford, and last night’s loss to No. 9 USC, Arizona State currently sits at 0-3. The last time the Sun Devils had a three-game losing streak in the PAC-12 was the 2020-2021 season, and that team was able to regroup and make it to the NCAA regionals.
From an outside perspective, last night’s 4-0 loss paints an image that the Sun Devils were trounced and outplayed by the Trojans, who have three players within the top 100 of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Rankings. However, looking through rose-colored glasses, the Sun Devils were not outmatched but performed poorly when it mattered the most.
“Taking our chances on the big moments and trusting our abilities,” said junior Max McKennon. “Every match on courts one through three was coming down to a couple of points, and if we take charge in the big moments, things could have turned out differently.”
The evening started with a commanding doubles win for junior Jacob Bullard and freshman Constantinos Koshis, who defeated their USC counterparts Bradley Frye and Peter Makk 6-1. The chemistry between the two and the tempo of play for ASU cemented its dominance in this match.
Bullard and Koshis would not be rewarded for their hard work in the doubles match as junior Spencer Brachman and McKennon lost 6-2 on court 3. On court 2, Sophomore phenom Murphy Cassone and freshman Roi Ginat had golden opportunities to seal the match and win the doubles point for ASU. They would blow an all-but-crucial 30-0 lead in the third set leading 5-4, and lose the next two games, setting the tone for the ASU men’s tennis team that night, a lack of execution.
“We wanted to win so bad that it was causing the guys to lock up and be tight in those moments,” said Head Coach Matt Hill, remarking on his team’s performance against USC. “They were top 10 in the country and much freer tonight and we were frustrated and not calm when it counted.”
Arizona State would have three of its five single matches go into a final set. And that’s what separates a top-tier team like USC, and Arizona State, who is learning how to win, as ASU would lose all three of those deciding sets.
The remaining schedule will not get any easier for Arizona State, with the Sun Devils facing four PAC-12 schools ranked in the top 50 in the nation.
“Everybody’s good, you’re not going to have any easy weekends because PAC-12 tennis is by far one of the strongest tennis conferences in the nation and has always been,” said Hill.
The Arizona State Mens Tennis team will host USC’s crosstown rival UCLA on Sunday for the first time since 2021. ASU will be looking to bounce back and end its three-game losing streak at the Whiteman Tennis Center.
“I thought we got ourselves in a position to win against a top-10 team, and if we execute against UCLA, we can win on Sunday,” said Hill.
