ASU Men’s Tennis Sweeps Texas Tech, Notches First Big 12 Win

(Photo: Sun Devil Athletics)

TEMPE – Heading into Friday night’s match against No. 68 Texas Tech, No. 37 Arizona State men’s tennis hadn’t picked up a win against Big 12 conference play. Or at least, that’s how the schedule chalks it up.

While the Sun Devils defeated Baylor 4-3 on March 16th, the match was a part of the UTR College Championships. Due to the site being neutral, it is seen as less of an actual Big 12 conference matchup. Baylor got its revenge with a sweep five days later and TCU swept ASU two days after, leaving the Sun Devils still technically searching for a Big 12 win.

ASU’s two-game skid directly coincided with sophomore Bor Artnak’s absence from the lineup. With a 10-4 record on the first court this season, Artnak has proven to be a formidable opponent for opposing teams there. The Slovenian playing at the top of the lineup gives the Sun Devils more favorable matchups on the remaining courts. As demonstrated on Friday, senior Nicola Cigna was a beneficiary of Artnak’s presence in the lineup.

Cigna played on the third court for singles and alongside junior Roi Ginat on the second court for doubles – a slight step down from second for singles and first for doubles last Sunday. Cigna and Ginat won 7-6 in doubles and Cigna got his first singles win in almost four weeks 6-1, 6-4. On the back of these wins, ASU swept the Red Raiders 4-0 for its first Big 12 win of the season.

“(Bor) not only gives us flexibility with the lineup, he gives confidence to the rest of the lineup,” head coach Matt Hill said. “He changes the feel for sure.”

On Friday, the Sun Devils got that confidence boost from clinching doubles point and Artnak playing on first court. Each doubles outing was tightly contested, as the wins on courts two and three were both decided by a score of 7-6.

Doubles on the first court, while unfinished, was similarly competitive. The score was left at 6-6, ultimately giving ASU players on courts two and three enough time to win doubles point. Sophomore Daniel Phillips, Artnak’s partner on court one, still left feeling unsatisfied.

“These guys were a ranked team, so I’m mad that we couldn’t finish it off,” Phillips said. “It would’ve been sick to beat another ranked team, but it is what it is.”

Cigna and Ginat clinched doubles point for ASU, the pair’s first doubles win this season. The two already built up a good rapport stemming from playing together in 2022 as the Italian thinks highly of Ginat as his doubles partner.

Coincidentally, Ginat clinched singles point for ASU as well. This clinch came on the sixth court, where Ginat has played for most of March. The junior has a 7-1 record on court six this season.

“Roi is always a clincher. I know that when it gets tough, he’s going to pull it off,” Cigna said. “I’m never worried when it comes to him.”

Seeing time at two of the top three courts on Friday, Cigna had plenty of conversations with assistant coach David Fox. Fox is usually found at either first or second court, but Hill asked his assistant to spend more time at courts three and four on Friday – a decision that Cigna had no complaints about.

Fox has shown a willingness to work with players in the mornings and an ability to motivate players during matches. For Cigna, that motivation was provided in the second set of his singles match.

“The second set, when the score was a little bit tighter, he reassured me and told me to keep trusting my game,” Cigna said. “During a couple of deuce points, I heard him and just played my way and executed. It was really helpful.”

Cigna has an overall record of 6-8 in singles play this season with an 0-2 record on the second court. While his singles win on Friday shouldn’t be entirely attributed to Artnak, Cigna’s history on the second court suggests a win could’ve been harder to obtain had he played there on Friday.

Nevertheless, there’s no need to entertain hypotheticals or debate if ASU actually won a Big 12 matchup. Artnak gave the Sun Devils flexibility resulting in Cigna picking up singles and doubles wins. These wins were key for ASU, getting its first win in Big 12 play.

“I think (Bor) just takes some stress off them,” Coach Hill said. “When you win doubles and you have Bor on court one, they believe they’re 2-0 up.”