(Photo: Mason Kern/WCSN)
The Arizona State men’s tennis team wraps up its regular season at home against the University of Arizona on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. MST in its first Territorial Cup matchup since 2008.
The Sun Devils (13-9, 2-4 Pac-12) come off of two Pac-12 losses this past weekend against two highly-ranked teams in No. 2 UCLA and No. 16 USC. However, in the UCLA match, ASU senior captain Michael Geerts won his singles match against Oracle/ITA Collegiate No. 1, Martin Redlicki.
Despite the losses, ASU head coach Matt Hill remained positive heading into the Arizona match on Saturday.
“I thought there were some spots that we did really well at,” Hill said Wednesday afternoon. “We really felt like if we could’ve turned one of the matches that we lost in either of the matches we would have had a really good chance to win. We were winning in the matches that didn’t finish. It was really razor thin margins there on how it turned out the way it did, but it gives us a lot of confidence moving into this weekend against Arizona.”
The Wildcats come into the weekend last in the Pac-12 with a record 15-13 overall and a conference record of 0-7. They have been shutout in three straight matches. Their best win came on Mar. 17 when they defeated No. 46 Utah State 4-1.
ASU freshman Will Kirkman discussed his excitement ahead of his first Territorial Cup.
“It sounds like a really exciting weekend,” Kirkman said. “Apparently a ton of fans are going to come out. We try as best we can to win every match we play, but this one is going to be special. I think it is going to get a little loud out there. They want to beat us just as much as we want to beat them, so we’ll see what happens.”
It is also senior day for ASU on Saturday. ASU’s lone senior, Michael Geerts, spoke on what it means to play his last match for the Sun Devils at home against Arizona.
“Playing my last match at home against U of A is really special,” Geerts said. “I think the crowd will be good. It is an important match for the school, for the community.”
After the Territorial Cup, the Sun Devils move on to the Pac-12 tournament in Ojai, Calif. starting Apr. 25.
