ASU men's and women's tennis each picked up wins over the past week, with the men winning against No. 50 Tulsa and No. 28 Oklahoma and the women winning over Oregon. However, the men's tennis team saw its 10-game win streak end after it lost to No. 2 Baylor.
Men
No. 21 ASU men's tennis, who now sports an 11-2 record, opened the week with a 4-3 win against Tulsa on Wednesday in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
ASU swiftly lost the doubles point, as its No. 1 pair of senior Nathan Ponwith and sophomore George Stoupe and No. 3 duo of senior Andrea Bolla and sophomore Christian Lerby lost 6-2 and 6-3, respectively.
However, ASU responded with strong performances in singles play, as Lerby and senior Makey Rakotomalala delivered wins at Nos. 6 and 3 singles. Ponwith also won in a three-set comeback, notching his second victory over a ranked opponent this season.
Senior Tim Ruehl ultimately clinched the victory at No. 2 singles. Bolla and Stoupe both fell at Nos. 4 and 5 singles, respectively.
The Sun Devils next defeated Oklahoma 4-3 on Friday in Norman, Oklahoma. They opened with a convincing doubles point victory, as Ponwith and Stoupe won 6-2 at the No. 1 doubles spot, while Lerby and Bolla also picked up a 6-1 victory at No. 3.
Singles play was highly contested, with Rakotomalala's loss and Bolla's win being the only lopsided results. Lerby won his singles match at No. 6 in three sets, and Ponwith clinched the team victory with a 7-6 (5), 7-5 win at No. 1. Ruehl and Stoupe both fell in tight matches at Nos. 2 and 5, respectively.
ASU's momentum was ultimately halted at Baylor, falling 4-0 in Waco, Texas on Sunday. In doubles, Ponwith and Stoupe fell in a tiebreak at No. 1, while Ruehl and Rakotomalala fell at No. 2 to clinch the point for the Bears.
Despite the one-sided final result, ASU was competitive with a loaded Baylor singles lineup that included five ranked players. Ponwith, Stoupe and Lerby all fell in straight sets at Nos. 1, 5 and 6, but Ruehl, Raktomalala and Bolla were all playing in undecided bouts against ranked opponents at Nos. 2-4.
ASU will next face VCU in Tempe on March 12 at 2 p.m MST.
Women
No. 24 ASU women’s tennis got back in the win column by shutting out Oregon 4-0 on Friday in Tempe in its first Pac-12 match of the season.
Redshirt senior Sammi Hampton and freshman Marianna Argyrokastriti defeated senior Julia Eshet and sophomore Allison Mulville 6-2 to earn the first win of the day for the Sun Devils.
Freshman Giulia Morlet and junior Domenika Turkovic lost their doubles match against Oregon freshmen Lillian Mould and Janice Tjen 6-4.
Seniors Ilze Hattingh and Lauryn John-Baptiste went to a tiebreaker in their doubles match against senior Rifanty Kahfiani and freshman Uxia Martinez Moral. However, the duo pulled through and won their match 7-6, winning the doubles point for ASU.
The Sun Devils then won three straight singles matches to win the team match. Turkovic won her singles match against Mulville 6-1, 6-1. Junior Cali Jankowski, who replaced Hampton in the lineup, and Argyrokastriti each captured wins in their singles matches in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 against Eshet and Martinez Moral, respectively.
Morlet, Hattingh and John-Baptiste each won the first sets of their singles matches before their matches were abandoned.
The win marked the fifth time ASU won by a shutout this season.
ASU will play next against Washington State on March 12 at 2:30 p.m. MST in Pullman, Washington.
Reach the reporters at lhertz@asu.edu and cbreber@asu.edu and follow @laurenrachell_ and @carsobi on Twitter.
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