(Photo: Marie Obsuna/Sun Devil Athletics)
Arizona State was 0-3 heading into the last day of last weekends’ ITA Kickoff when it was handed its first win of the season after Loyola Marymount forfeited due to a “team-wide illness.”
After some tough road trips to begin the year, coach Matt Hill and the Sun Devils return home to the friendly confines of the Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe on Saturday for their first home match of the season against Pepperdine.
“It’s a special season for us with so many matches on the road,” sophomore Tim Ruehl said. “So every home match is something special.”
ASU plays only five matches at home this campaign. Having reestablished the program last season after a 10-year hiatus, the emphasis on road matches is most likely to create exposure for the Sun Devils program, which started the year No. 24 in the Oracle/ITA rankings (they have since fallen out but received votes in the Jan. 30 update).
Inconsistent singles play has plagued the Sun Devils to this point in the year. Two of their losses have been in come-from-behind fashion after taking a 3-0 lead. ASU lost 4-3 to Duke in its first match, and more recently suffered the same result to No. 20 Oklahoma State.
However, morale is still high across the program. Despite the early collapses, there is plenty of time to shake off the rust as the season progresses.
“With the singles I’m not too worried,” sophomore Benjamin Hannestad said. “We had some leads slip, but I think everyone is progressing for every match.”
One area that has been effective for the Sun Devils through the first four games is their play in doubles. ASU has won the doubles point in all four of their matches despite reflecting a 1-3 record.
The tandem of graduate transfer Justin Roberts and junior Makey Rakotomalala are 3-0 on the season and have buoyed the team’s success in clinching the important point. ASU also has one ranked pairing in No. 22 Ruehl and fellow sophomore Andrea Bolla, although sophomore William Kirkman has filled in the past few matches.
With a limited opportunity to secure home victories because of the travel-heavy schedule, the team recognizes that they have to capitalize on every chance they get.
“It’s always fun to play here in front of the crowd,” Rakotomalala said. “Especially for me, I love playing here … We have to win this match.”
Pepperdine:
Similarly to ASU, Pepperdine is off to a slow start after losing its first two matches to Fresno State and Abilene Christian.
Pepperdine has traditionally been a very tough opponent, having won three NCAA Championships in program history, the latest of which was 2006. Despite being unranked as a squad, the Waves send out one ranked singles player in junior No. 53 Adrian Oetzbach.
The match starts at 1 p.m. MST and will be streamed live on Pac 12 Plus.
