(Photo: Patricia Vicente/WCSN)
The Arizona State men’s tennis team is set to play what could be its toughest weekend slate of Pac-12 play with two home matches against No. 2 UCLA and No. 16 USC.
The Sun Devils (13-7, 2-2 Pac-12) are coming off a weekend sweep of Oregon and Washington on the road that gave them team its first two Pac-12 victories of the season. These wins improved the team’s record to 13-7 overall and helped move the team up four spots in the Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis rankings from No. 37 to No. 33.
“Being able to go 2-0 against Oregon and Washington was really big,” freshman Will Kirkman said. “It’s definitely a confidence builder.”
The team opens up the weekend with an evening match against UCLA on Friday at 5:00 p.m. MST at the Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe. The Bruins boast an overall record of 20-2 on the season. Ten of UCLA’s wins have come as shutouts including a 4-0 shutout of No. 3 Stanford on Mar. 30.
ASU plays its second match of the weekend against USC on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. MST also at the Whiteman Tennis Center. The Trojans (12-7, 3-2 Pac-12) are coming off a close, 4-3 loss to UCLA last Friday. They have been ranked as high as No. 5 earlier in the season and defeated No. 4 Georgia on Feb. 13 and No. 10 Texas on Mar. 14.
“We believe (the matches) are going to be some absolute wars this weekend,” ASU head coach Matt Hill said. “The guys are excited for it.”
Freshman Andrea Bolla said that UCLA and USC are “two great teams.” However, he said that he and his teammates do not lack confidence heading into the matches.
“We have confidence because we know we are good players,” Bolla said. “We can do it. It will be tough for sure but also fun.”
