(Mason Kern/WCSN)
The Arizona State men’s tennis team dropped its second match to USC this season 4-0 in blowout fashion in the team’s opening Pac-12 tournament game at Libbey Park in Oaji, California.
The showdown was a rematch of the Sun Devils’ 4-1 loss on April 15 in Tempe.
The Sun Devils started off the match by losing the doubles point as USC’s No. 7-ranked doubles tandem of Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven defeated ASU’s Makey Rakotomalala and Andrea Bolla 6-2 before Daniel Cuckierman and Riley Smith closed out the point for the Trojans with a 6-1 victory over the Sun Devils’ Benjamin Hannestad and Will Kirkman. The third doubles match between ASU’s Michael Geerts and Tim Ruehl and USC’s Brandon Holt and Riley Smith was suspended with Geerts and Ruehl leading the No. 9 Trojan tandem 4-3.
In singles, it was all Trojans.
Jake Devine gave USC the 2-0 lead with a 6-3, 6-0 drubbing of Will Kirkman. USC took a 3-0 lead when Brandon Holt defeated Michael Geerts 6-4, 6-2 in a battle of top-20 players. Daniel Cuckierman then closed out the match for the Trojans with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Benjamin Hannestad. The remaining three singles matches were suspended.
The loss moves the Sun Devils to 14-10 on the season and ends their Pac-12 title hopes.
However, the team is currently No. 36 in the Oracle/ITA men’s collegiate tennis rankings making it a shoe in to qualify for the NCAA Tournament — which 64 teams qualify for — in its first season back as a program since 2008. The tournament begins May 12.
The Sun Devils will have to wait until Tuesday, May 1, when the Tournament selection results come out to find out who they will play.
ASU’s senior captain Michael Geerts is could be the lone Sun Devil in the NCAA singles portion of the tournament as he is currently ranked No. 20 in the Oracle/ITA men’s singles rankings.
Results
Doubles:
No. 88 Geerts/Ruehl (ASU) vs. No. 9 Holt/Smith (USC) | 4-3, unf.
No. 7 Jaede/Verboven (USC) def. No. 48 Rakotomalala/Bolla (ASU) | 6-2
Cuckierman/Smith (USC) def. Hannestad/Kirkman (ASU) | 6-1
Order of Finish: 2, 3*
Singles:
No. 11 Brandon Holt (USC) def. No. 20 Michael Geerts (ASU) | 6-4, 6-2
No. 82 Daniel Cuckierman (USC) def. No. 84 Benjamin Hannestad (ASU) | 6-3, 6-3^
Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) vs. Laurens Verboven (USC) | 7-6, 1-0 unf.
Tim Ruehl (ASU) vs. Thibault Forget (USC) | 3-6, 1-3 unf.
Andrea Bolla (ASU) vs. Riley Smith (USC) | 3-6, 4-3 unf.
Jake Devine (USC) def. William Kirkman (ASU) | 6-3, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 1, 2
*= cliched doubles point
^ = clinched overall match
