ASU men's tennis improved to 4-1 on the season with wins over Grand Canyon, No. 22 Pepperdine and Northern Arizona this week, equaling its win total from an injury-riddled and abbreviated 2020 season in less than half the matches.
Grand Canyon
The Sun Devils began their 7-0 victory over the winless Antelopes by securing the doubles point with victories from the No. 1 duo of senior Nathan Ponwith and freshman Max McKennon and from the No. 3 pair of sophomore George Stoupe and freshman Moritz Hoffmann.
ASU then quickly secured the necessary three singles victories to clinch the result. Ponwith won 6-0, 6-3 at No. 1 singles, where he is undefeated on the season. His doubles partner McKennon also won 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 4 spot, while senior Andrea Bolla sealed the result at No. 2 singles, winning 6-2, 7-6.
Seniors Makey Rakotomalala, who typically plays No. 2 singles, and Tim Ruehl, who is half of the No. 14 doubles pair in the nation with Bolla, did not play, creating opportunities for some less experienced players to move up the ladder.
That included Hoffmann at No. 5 and sophomore Jonah Wilson, who entered the match just 0-1 in his ASU career, at No. 6. Sophomore Christian Lerby also made his season debut at No. 3 singles. All three players won in deciding third sets.
Pepperdine
The Sun Devils next took on No. 22 Pepperdine, the nation's final undefeated team standing last year. ASU began their victorious effort by securing the doubles point, as they have done in each match this season. After Stoupe and Lerby won at No. 3 doubles and Bolla and Ruehl fell at No. 1, McKennon and Ponwith clinched the point with a 6-3 victory at the No. 2 spot.
In singles play, the Waves were without their No. 1 player Daniel De Jonge, who also forms the No. 34 doubles team in the nation with Adrian Oetzbach, where he also did not play. With each player therefore moved up a spot in the ladder, Pepperdine struggled to match ASU's depth, falling in straight sets at Nos. 4-6 to Bolla, McKennon and Stoupe, respectively.
Ponwith continued his undefeated streak with a 6-3, 6-3 victory at No. 1 singles, while Ruehl secured a victory in his singles season debut over No. 90 Corrado Summaria in three sets at No. 3 singles. Rakotomalala was the only ASU player to fall, losing in three sets to freshman Guy Den Ouden, a former top-20 ITF junior. The result marked Rakotomalala's eighth straight singles loss, dating back to last season.
For the Sun Devils, who found themselves in the "receiving votes" category of last week's top-25 poll, the 6-1 victory marked a second straight impressive showing against a ranked opponent after their 4-3 loss to No. 4 Texas the week prior.
Northern Arizona
The Sun Devils repeated that result against the Lumberjacks, winning 6-1, but did so without Rakotomalala, Ruehl or McKennon.
Lerby and Stoupe rushed to a 6-1 victory at No. 3 doubles, where they remain undefeated on the season, and were followed by a 6-3 victory from Ponwith and McKennon at the No. 2 spot, who have now won four straight, to secure the doubles point yet again.
In singles, Wilson, playing No. 5, won 6-2, 6-1 and finished first, followed by Ponwith, who won 6-2, 6-2. Sophomore Tom LeBlanc, who regularly played at Nos. 4 and 5 singles for ASU last year, then clinched the victory in his season debut, winning 6-3, 7-5.
Bolla and Stoupe both won in three sets at No. 2 and No. 4, respectively, while Lerby fell in three sets at No. 3 singles, despite winning the first set 6-1.
Following a match-heavy week, the Sun Devils will next play New Mexico State at home on Feb. 13.
Reach the reporter at cbreber@asu.edu and follow @carsobi on Twitter.
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