(Photo: Mason Kern/WCSN)
After a loss in the championship match at the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Tennis Challenge 4-3 to then-ranked No. 39 California, the No. 34 Arizona State men’s tennis team returns home to Whiteman Tennis Center after a four-match road trip to take on a non-conference opponent against the University of New Mexico on Saturday afternoon.
The Lobos come into the match with a 10-6 record on the year, currently coming off a 4-1 loss to in-state rival New Mexico State on Thursday.
New Mexico is 3-3 on the year in road matches and is seeking to go above .500 in that category against the Sun Devils.
ASU comes into the match with a 10-6 record on the year. The team went 2-2 on its past four-match road trip, first taking on current No. 2 Ohio State, dropping that match 4-3. Then the Sun Devils traveled to the Palm Desert, Calif. to compete at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and defeated Southern Methodist University 4-2, and then Tulsa 4-1 before dropping the championship match to Cal 4-3.
ASU senior captain and No. 35 Michaël Geerts is 10-1 in his last 11 matches. In ASU’s loss against Ohio State, he defeated then No. 2 Mikael Torpegaard in straight sets 7-6, 7-5. He also went undefeated in his three matches in the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Tennis Challenge, defeating another ranked opponent in then No. 52 Billy Griffith of Cal–it was his third victory over a ranked opponent this season.
For his efforts, Geerts was selected as Pac-12 Player of the Week for the second time this season.
The Sun Devils have two other players in the national singles rankings. Freshman captain Benjamin Hannestad has improved to No. 40 despite not participating in the BNP Paribas tournament, and sophomore Makey Rakotomalala increased to No. 116.
Freshman Andrea Bolla extended his winning streak to five matches after going a perfect 3-0 in tournament play–his last loss came on Feb. 17 in the match against San Diego.
The match against the Lobos is set for 1 p.m. local time. ASU’s homestead will not last long as the team will next head out to Salt Lake City for a match against the University of Utah.
