Latest News

ASU Men’s Tennis: Sun Devils lose tough NCAA Tournament opener

(Photo: Marie Obsuna/Sun Devil Athletics) 

In its first match of NCAA Tournament play since the 2008 season, the reinstated Arizona State men’s tennis team hit the road to Texas A&M–the neutral site of the team’s first round matchup.

No. 36 ASU (14-11 overall, 3-4 Pac-12) took on No. 18 Baylor (21-9 overall, 1-4 Big-12) in a highly-anticipated first-round match. The last time these two teams faced off was in 1997–where the Sun Devils took the road victory 4-3 at Baylor. However, this ASU team has a new look, and the Sun Devils lack of postseason experience showed as the Bears handily took the match 4-0 Friday morning.

Both the Bears and Sun Devils boasted two doubles pairings in the Oracle/ITA national rankings as of May 3. Redshirt junior Will Little and fellow junior Johannes Schretter were slotted at No. 15 while freshman Akos Kotorman and sophomore Constantin Frantzmen improved to No. 81 for Baylor. Meanwhile, sophomore Makey Rakotomalala and freshman Andrea Bolla ranked No. 59 while senior captain Michaël Geerts and freshman Tim Ruehl finished at No. 68 for ASU.

Doubles play commenced with the two ranked doubles pairings for ASU sticking together. Baylor switched up their tandems putting Kotorman and Schretter on court one, freshmen Roy Smith and Sven Lah on two, and Frantzen and Little on three. ASU head coach Matt Hill also made an adjustment to his last unranked doubles pairing, putting freshmen Pierre Louis Dodens and William Kirkman together in the third doubles spot.

It was a sluggish start for the Sun Devils as the Bears pulled ahead to a 3-1 lead on every court. Kotorman and Schretter clinched the first victory for Baylor 6-2 over No. 68 Ruehl and Geerts. ASU would crawl back tying the games on courts two and three at 4-4, and then 5-5. However, Frantzen and Little proved too much for Dodens and Kirkman on three, achieving a break point to win the set 7-5, and clinch the doubles point for Baylor.

Singles was not that much better for ASU as they lost the first set in all six matches. Baylor freshman Matias Soto clinched the first victory for the Bears with a 6-2, 3-0 (retired) victory over ASU No. 80 freshman captain Benjamin Hannestad. Frantzen next blew past Kirkman 6-3, 6-0 putting the Bears up 3-0.

Little closed out the match defeating Ruehl at the four spot 6-2, 6-3 to give Baylor the 4-0 victory.

Baylor’s third ranked singles player No. 91 Bjoern Petersen was a DNP in this match.

The loss ends ASU’s postseason run in the NCAA Tournament. Geerts will now represent the Sun Devils in the singles championships at Wake Forest University on May 23.

Doubles

  1. Akos Kotorman/Johannes Schretter (Baylor) def. No. 68 Michaël Geerts/Tim Ruehl (ASU) – 6-2
  2. No. 59 Makey Rakotomalala/Andrea Bolla (ASU) vs. Roy Smith/Sven Lah (Baylor) – 5-6 (susp.)
  3. Will Little/Constantin Frantzen (Baylor) def. Pierre Louis Dodens/William Kirkman (ASU) – 7-5

Order of finish: 1, 3*

*clinched the doubles point

Singles

  1. No. 20 Michaël Geerts (ASU) vs. No. 63 Johannes Schretter (Baylor) – 5-7, 1-2 (susp.)
  2. Matias Soto (Baylor) def. No. 80 Benjamin Hannestad (ASU) – 6-2, 3-0 (ret.)
  3. No. 122 Sven Lah (Baylor) vs. Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) – 6-1, 1-6, 2-1 (susp.)
  4. Will Little (Baylor) def. Tim Ruehl (ASU) – 6-2, 6-3
  5. Roy Smith (Baylor) vs. Andrea Bolla (ASU) – 6-3, 2-4 (susp.)
  6. Constantin Frantzen (Baylor) def. William Kirkman (ASU) – 6-3, 6-0

Order of finish: 2, 6, 4^

^clinched the overall match

 

 

 

 

 

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

Mason Kern

Mason has been a beat reporter for the Walter Cronkite Sports Network since he arrived on Arizona State's campus in August of 2017. In addition, he is the Host of "The Sports Watchdog' Radio Show," which airs on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 (KDUS)—a station serving all of metro Phoenix (top-ranked as the #14 U.S. radio market).

Recent Posts

Skinner’s career night propels ASU to narrow victory in season opener

(Photo credit: Aishling Cavanaugh/WCSN) TEMPE — With Desert Financial Arena buzzing, Arizona State found itself…

9 hours ago

Sun Devils prepare for Big 12 debut in Adair’s third year

(Photo credit: Marina Willams/WCSN) Excitement is brewing for Arizona State women’s basketball as the Sun…

22 hours ago

Sun Devils put up complete performance in fall exhibition against GCU

(Photo: Maya Diaz/WCSN) As warmup music echoed throughout GCU ballpark, baseball bats pinged and cleats…

2 days ago

Takeaways: Sun Devils Clinch Bowl Eligibility With Win Over Oklahoma State

With 22 seconds remaining in the first half Arizona State football found itself a single…

3 days ago

No. 13 Sun Devils Extend Win Streak to 10, Earn Season Sweep Over No. 22 Utah

(Photo: Katherine Gore/WCSN) In a match one month ago, No. 13 Arizona State Volleyball won…

3 days ago

Sun Devil arms against pros in exhibition against USA Baseball

(Photo: Austin Hurst/WCSN) PHOENIX - Senior right-handed pitcher Jack Martinez walked off the mound in…

3 days ago