ASU Men’s Tennis: Sun Devils defeat two ranked opponents in tournament weekend

(Photo: Alex Roddier/WCSN)

This weekend may have been a turning point for Arizona State.

The Sun Devils (6-8 overall) took a break from conference play to participate in the 2019 BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Tennis Challenge at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California. Despite bowing out in the semifinals to conference foe No. 16 USC, the Sun Devils were able to take two victories away from the tournament — both over opponents ranked by the Oracle/ITA.

ASU started the tournament against No. 13 Michigan (10-3) and achieved its first victory over a top-25 team since the program was reinstated in 2018. The Sun Devils defeated the Wolverines 4-2 in comeback fashion after going down 2-0 by dropping the doubles point and with sophomore Andrea Bolla losing the first singles match on court three.

However, despite the deficit, ASU rattled off four straight singles victories to pull off the upset and advance to the semifinals. In that process, junior Nathan Ponwith — who is ranked No. 74 in singles — clinched the match with a victory over Michigan’s court one sophomore No. 37 Mattias Siimar. ASU’s victory also snapped Michigan’s seven-match win streak.

“This team has been through a lot in a short span all the way back to the fall,” ASU coach Matt Hill said. “They’ve gone through a lot of adversity and I’m really happy they got on the other side of it because there are a lot of teams that never get on the other side of it. They’re working through it and we’re not there yet, but we’re definitely on the right path after [this victory].”

ASU’s semifinal bout was an early preview of a match with USC that is set to take place in Los Angeles in conference play on April 20. This was the third meeting between the Sun Devils and Trojans since ASU was reinstated last season, and the score trend continued as ASU was swept 4-0 for the third time in a row. The Sun Devils have failed to register a point in all three meetings with USC stemming from last year.

After ceding the doubles point for the second time in two matches, USC (10-6) sent three ranked singles players spread across six courts, and capitalized by securing three victories in a row to claim the overall win.

Despite the loss, ASU had one more match to play in the tournament, a rematch with another conference foe in No. 31 California (7-7). The Sun Devils lost 4-2 back on March 9 to the Golden Bears, but avenged themselves this time around with a nail-biting 4-3 win.

After falling early by losing the doubles point — the team went 0-3 on the weekend in doubles — ASU was able to bounce back quickly as graduate transfer Justin Roberts made quick work of his opponent on court four to even the match at one apiece. The Golden Bears responded with two singles victories to go up 3-1.

However, even when the match seemed to be lost, junior Dominik Kellovsky surged to defeat his opponent on court two in the third set. It was an especially impressive performance considering he lost the first set in dominating fashion, 6-0.

“Dominik’s match had the most pressure because he was in a tiebreaker,” Hill said. “It was one point or the other and he either wins or loses, and he did an unbelievable job to finish out the match. He lost his first set 6-0 and came out totally focused and had belief in himself.”

That result propelled ASU to multiple other victories en route to the win as Ponwith won his individual match to tie the score at three, and sophomore Tim Ruehl clinched it for the Sun Devils.

“When it comes down to Tim, we have a ton of confidence in him to finish matches,” Hill said. “He’s so good under pressure, and you never see him nervous or tight. He’s always playing good tennis and as long as he’s constructing the tactics and points the right way, he’s fine.”

ASU hits the road to Texas for its next two matches where it will have a rematch with No. 6 Baylor, who beat it in the first round of the NCAA Championships last season. The Sun Devils will then face No. 12 Texas Christian, a team they lost to a year ago and faced in the inaugural Tempe Collegiate Classic to begin this season.

Match Results:

ASU vs. No. 13 Michigan (4-2 win)

Doubles

1. No. 49 Dominik Kellovsky/Nathan Ponwith (ASU) def. Harrison Brown/Connor Johnston (Michigan) – 7-6(4)
2. Myles Schalet/Steve Forman (Michigan) def. No. 55 Justin Roberts/Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) – 7-6(8-6)^
3. Mattias Siimar/Gabe Tishman (Michigan) def. No. 39 Tim Ruehl/Andrea Bolla (ASU) – 7-5

Order of finish: 3, 1, 2^

^Clinched doubles point

Singles

1. No. 74 Nathan Ponwith (ASU) def. No. 37 Mattias Siimar (Michigan) – (1)6-7, 6-1, 6-4*
2. Dominik Kellovsky (ASU) def. Myles Schalet (Michigan) – 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-5
3. Connor Johnston (Michigan) def. Andrea Bolla (ASU) – 6-4, 6-2
4. Justin Roberts (ASU) def. Gabe Tishman (Michigan) – 7-6(3), 7-6(2)
5. Tim Ruehl (ASU) def. Steve Forman (Michigan) – 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
6. Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) vs. Harrison Brown (Michigan) – 3-6, 7-5, 5-5 (susp.)

Order of finish: 3, 4, 5, 2, 1*, 6 (susp.)

*Clinched victory

ASU vs. No. 16 USC (4-0 loss)

Doubles

1. No. 28 Brandon Holt/Riley Smith (USC) def. No. 49 Dominik Kellovsky/Nathan Ponwith (ASU) – 6-4^
2. Jack Jaede/Laurens Verboven (USC) def. No. 55 Justin Roberts/Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) – 6-2
3. No. 39 Tim Ruehl/Andrea Bolla (ASU) vs. Daniel Cukierman/Tanner Smith (USC) – 4-3 (susp.)

Order of finish: 2, 1^, 3 (susp.)

^Clinched doubles point

Singles

1. No. 16 Brandon Holt (USC) def. No. 74 Nathan Ponwith (ASU) – 6-4, 6-2
2. No. 6 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. Dominik Kellovsky (ASU) – 6-4, 6-1
3. Andrea Bolla (ASU) vs. No. 23 Laurens Verboven (USC) – 2-6, 4-5 (susp.)
4. Justin Roberts (ASU) vs. Riley Smith (USC) – 5-7, 5-4 (susp.)
5. Tim Ruehl (ASU) vs. Mor Bulis (USC) – 7-5, 2-1 (susp.)
6. Jake Sands (USC) def. Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) – 6-3, 6-2*

Order of finish: 2, 1, 6*, (3, 4, 5 susp.)

*Clinched victory

ASU vs. California (4-3 win)

Doubles

1. No. 11 Jacob Brumm/Yukita Kikuchi (Cal) def. No. 49 Dominik Kellovsky/Nathan Ponwith (ASU) – 6-3^
2. No. 33 Paul Barretto/Can Kaya (Cal) def. No. 55 Justin Roberts/Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) – 6-3
3. No. 39 Tim Ruehl/Andrea Bolla (ASU) vs. Jack Molloy/Mert Zincirli (Cal) – 3-5 (susp.)

Order of finish: 2, 1, 3 (susp.)

^Clinched doubles point

Singles

1. No. 74 Nathan Ponwith (ASU) def. Yuta Kikuchi (Cal) – 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
2. Dominik Kellovsky (ASU) def. Jack Molloy (Cal) – 0-6, 6-4, 7-6(5)
3. Justin Roberts (ASU) def. Jacob Brumm (Cal) – 6-2, 6-1
4. Tim Ruehl (ASU) def. Paul Barretto (Cal) – 3-6, 6-4, 6-3*
5. Bjorn Hoffmann (Cal) def. Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) – 6-2, 6-4
6. Ben Draper (Cal) def. Benjamin Hannestad (ASU) – 6-4, 2-6, 6-3

Order of finish: 3, 5, 6, 2, 1, 4*

*Clinched victory

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