Men's Tennis

ASU Men’s Tennis: Sun Devils swept by No. 13 Texas A&M

After a full two weeks without a match, Arizona State men’s tennis (3-5) was swept 5-0 by the 13th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies (7-3) in their return to the court Sunday.

ASU continues to suffer from the combination of a brutal schedule and injuries early on this season, as they have only lost to ranked opponents thus far and are still without their presumed number one singles player, senior Nathan Ponwith, who has been out since late November with a shoulder injury. Ponwith is expected to return soon. 

The Sun Devils began the match by losing a tightly contested doubles point. 

Freshman Tom LeBlanc and junior William Kirkman opened play for ASU with a swift 6-1 loss at number two doubles, but a 6-3 win from freshmen George Stoupe and Christian Lerby at number three doubles evened up the score, leaving the point in the hands of ASU’s junior pair of Tim Ruehl and Andrea Bolla, the 12th ranked doubles team in the nation. Although the duo entered the match having won four straight, they were defeated 6-4 by the Aggies’ number one team of Juan Carlos Aguilar and Stefan Storch, thus clinching the point. 

In singles, Stoupe, who entered the match with a 4-2 record, was the first to finish, as he lost 6-4, 6-1 to Stefan Storch. 

Senior Makey Rakotomalala, who began the season as ASU’s number one singles player with Ponwith out, made his return to the court in this match after nearly a month off, but fell 4-6, 2-6 to Noah Schacter in the number four spot. 

At numbers one and two singles for ASU, Bolla and Ruehl both suffered straight-set losses to nationally ranked opponents, as 34th ranked Hady Habib bested Bolla 6-1, 7-5, and 3rd ranked Valentin Vacherot handled Ruehl 6-1, 6-2 to clinch victory for the Aggies.

At number three singles, Lerby was unable to finish his match against 31st ranked Juan Carlos Aguilar, yet showed tremendous promise, splitting the first two sets 3-6, 6-2, and maintaining his strong 4-1 record at the number three spot. 

Number five singles also could not finish, where LeBlanc trailed Guido Marson 6-7 (4), 2-3. 

The Sun Devils will look to rebound when they return home Friday to face UNLV at 4 p.m. 

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

Carson Breber

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…

8 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…

21 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