ASU Men’s Tennis: Stellar season ends after second round NCAA Tournament loss to TCU

(Photo: Emmie Keenan/WCSN)

As No. 27 Arizona State walked onto the courts at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday, it experienced a similar feeling mixed with a slight twist. Back on March 24, the then-No. 35 Sun Devils traveled to this exact facility to take on then-No. 10 Texas Christian, narrowly succumbing to a 4-3 defeat.

This time, the stakes were higher.

Saturday’s match marked the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The No. 9 Horned Frogs defeated No. 41 Harvard 4-1 in the first round, while ASU (14-14, 4-4 Pac-12) coasted past No. 33 Miami 4-0 to advance and meet once again in a highly-anticipated rematch that sent the winner to the NCAA Super Regional against No. 7 Mississippi State with momentum.

TCU (21-6, 3-2 Big-12) inevitably prevailed with a 4-1 victory, subsequently ending ASU’s best season since 2004, the last time the Sun Devils advanced to this point or beyond in the tournament.

Technically, ASU has qualified for the NCAA Tournament for three seasons in a row stemming back to 2008. The 10-year gap is because the university disbanding the program due to financial constraints. In the first year of the team’s reinstatement in 2017 under newly appointed coach Matt Hill, the squad achieved a berth in the tournament only to be eliminated in the first round 4-0 by Baylor.

This year was different, though. A sweeping tournament win in round one restored last season’s defeat and matched the Sun Devils favorably with a familiar opponent in round two, despite the loss.

The Sun Devils started off strong in doubles against TCU on Saturday, as the sophomore duo of Andrea Bolla and Tim Ruehl upset TCU’s No. 22 pairing of sophomore Bertus Kruger and senior Reese Stalder 6-3. However, both of ASU’s ranked tandems dropped their contests on courts one and three to put the Horned Frogs on the advantage 1-0 heading into singles. With the loss, the Sun Devils finished the season claiming 20 doubles points across 28 total matches, a stark improvement compared to a year ago.

The overall score became notched at 1-1 after ASU graduate student Justin Roberts defeated Stalder in straight sets on court three 6-3, 6-3. The team’s loss makes it Roberts’ last match played at the collegiate level, individually leaving the scene on a positive note as he attempts to climb the professional circuit ladder.

The Sun Devils seemingly started to surge late as Ruehl tied his second set at 5-5 after winning the first one, while junior Dominik Kellovsky tied his second set at 3-3 after dropping the first to No. 28 junior Alastair Gray. However, it was not enough as courts six, one and five all went in TCU’s favor to clinch a 4-1 Horned Frogs’ victory.

With team play coming to a close, ASU will be represented in one final event this season. No. 17 Kellovsky and junior Nathan Ponwith will compete in the NCAA Doubles Tournament in Orlando, Florida, beginning May 20. The pair was one of 32 selected to compete and is the first duo from ASU since the team was reinstated last season after a 10-year hiatus.

Match Results:

No. 27 Arizona State vs. No. 9 TCU (4-1 loss)

Doubles

1. No. 15 Alastair Gray/Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. No. 17 Dominik Kellovsky/Nathan Ponwith (ASU) – 6-4
2. Andrea Bolla/Tim Ruehl (ASU) def. No. 22 Bertus Kruger/Reese Stalder (TCU) – 6-3
3. Luc Fomba/Sander Jong (TCU) def. No. 80 Justin Roberts/Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) – 7-5^

^Clinched doubles point

Order of finish: 2, 1, 3^

Singles

1. No. 4 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. No. 99 Nathan Ponwith (ASU) – 6-3, 6-4
2. Dominik Kellovsky (ASU) vs. No. 28 Alastair Gray (TCU) – 6-7(1), 3-3 (susp.)
3. Justin Roberts (ASU) def. Reese Stalder (TCU) – 6-3, 6-3
4. Tim Ruehl (ASU) vs. Bertus Kruger (TCU) – 6-3, 5-5 (susp.)
5. Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Andrea Bolla (ASU) – 6-3, 6-4*
6. Sander Jong (TCU) def. Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) – 6-4, 6-3

*Clinched overall match

Order of finish: 3, 6, 1, 5*, (2, 4 susp.)

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