While it may have been snowing in East Lansing, Michigan, Sunday, the Arizona State men’s tennis team brought the heat as they swept the Michigan State Spartans 7-0 to bring their overall record to 3-4.
No. 18 doubles pair Tim Reuhl and Andrew Bolla were responsible for the beginning momentum with a decisive 6-1 victory against MSU’s John Carlin and Anthony Pero. William Kirkman and Tom LeBlanc would finish shortly after with a 6-3 win to clinch the double point for the Sun Devils.
Opening the singles set with a 1-0 lead, Reuhl carried the momentum into his play, defeating his opponent in under an hour to extend ASU’s lead to 2-0 (6-1, 6-2). Bolla would wrap up later with a 6-4, 6-2 win on Court 1 to put the Sun Devils within one point of taking the win. After winning his first set comfortably 6-0, Christian Lerby battled back from a 4-5 deficit late in set two to win 7-6 and clinch a 4-0 victory for the Sun Devils.
The remaining courts decided to play their matches out.
George Stoupe enjoyed minimal problems on Court 5, coasting past Kazuki Matsuno with 6-5, 6-3 victories to make it 5-0 in ASU’s favor. LeBlanc would also close out his opponent on Court 4 with little trouble. Kirkman later secured the victory with a close 7-6 victory in Game 3 over Jarreau Campbell on Court 6 to secure the 7-0 sweep against the Spartans.
The Sun Devils will take a break next weekend before hitting the road to travel to face Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, on February 23. The match will be live-streamed on Pac-12 Network at 12:00 p.m. MT.
