ASU Men’s Tennis: Sun Devils lose to two ranked opponents at home as Ponwith returns to the court

(Photo: Patricia Vicente/WCSN)

Arizona State (4-7) continued to struggle against top-tier competition this weekend. The Sun Devils suffered their sixth and seventh losses to ranked opponents this season, losing 6-1 to the 27th-ranked Baylor Bears (13-3) Saturday, and 4-1 to the 14th-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons (12-3) Sunday.  

Despite the losses, the Sun Devils played their full lineup for the first time all season versus Baylor, as senior Nathan Ponwith returned from a shoulder injury that had kept him out of action all season, to play at No. 1 singles. 

The Sun Devils lost the doubles point versus the Bears relatively quickly, as Ponwith paired up with senior William Kirkman at No. 3 doubles and fell 6-1 versus Sebastian Nothhaft and Finn Bass, while the freshman duo of Christian Lerby and George Stoupe lost 6-3 at No. 2 versus Ryan Dickerson and Adrian Boitan. 

ASU’s No. 1 pair of juniors Andrea Bolla and Tim Ruehl, who have been ranked as high as 12th nationally this season, were unable to finish their contest versus Baylor’s 11th-ranked pair of Sven Lah and Constantin Franzen, as they were knotted at 4-4 when the point was clinched and they stopped play. 

In singles play, senior Makey Rakotomalala, who is dealing with a foot injury, lost 6-4, 6-2 at No. 2 to 35th ranked Sven Lah, who extended his record on the season to 14-1. 

Stoupe also fell 6-2, 6-1 at No. 6 to Bass, who has now won five straight matches. 

Ponwith, the next to finish, clinched the result, as he lost 6-4, 6-2 at No. 1 to 57th ranked Boitan, who has now won five straight as well. 

Once the match was clinched, the Sun Devils earned their lone victory of the day at No. 5, as freshman Tom LeBlanc won his third-straight match over Frantzen 2-6, 7-6, 1-0.

At No. 4, Lerby lost to Dickerson 7-5, 4-6, 1-0, while Andrea Bolla, who clinched ASU’s victory over UNLV last week with a dramatic three-set victory and has played No. 1 for much of the season due to the injuries to Ponwith and Rakotomala, fought valiantly at No. 3 in the final match, but fell 7-6, 2-6, 1-0 to freshman Alex Garcia after pushing the third set super tiebreaker to 13-11. 

Against the Demon Deacons, the Sun Devils lost the doubles point in dramatic fashion. After Ponwith and Lerby lost 6-3 at No. 1 to the 58th-ranked pair of Henri Squire and Eduardo Nava, Ruehl and Kirkman came up with a 6-3 win at No. 3, leaving the result up to Stoupe and Leblanc at No. 2. 

The freshman tandem, who were playing together for the first time all season, fell just short in a 7-6 (5) loss. 

The injury bug bit the Sun Devils again in singles, as Rakotomala missed his fourth match of the season and was replaced by Lerby, who impressed in a 7-5, 6-2 win over Squire in his first match at the No. 2 spot. 

After Lerby’s victory evened the score at 1-1, the Sun Devils struggled, as Kirkman fell 6-2, 6-4 to Nava at No. 5, Leblanc lost 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4, and Ponwith clinched the result for the second-straight match with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat at No. 1 to 38th-ranked Bar Botzer.  

Bolla trailed 6-2, 3-1 at No. 3 yet he did not finish, while 95th-ranked Rrezart Cungu led Stoupe 6-4, 4-3 at No. 6.

The Sun Devils will have nine days off to get fully healthy before they face Indiana, another formidable opponent, March 17.

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