ASU's men's and women's tennis teams traded sweeps against UA Saturday to finish their regular seasons. The women's team won its third consecutive match by shutting out the Wildcats, but the men's team suffered a shutout of their own.
Women
ASU women's tennis finished its regular season Saturday with a 4-0 sweep over rival UA in Tucson.
The Sun Devils and Wildcats split the first two doubles matches. The senior pairing of Ilze Hattingh and Lauryn John-Baptiste defeated sophomore Khim Iglupas and senior Jelena Lukic 6-2. Freshman Marianna Argyrokastriti and redshirt senior Sammi Hampton then lost to senior Gitte Heynemans and sophomore Kayla Wilkins 6-3.
The Sun Devils captured the doubles point with senior Tereza Kolarova and freshman Giulia Morlet's 7-6 win over seniors Abby Amos and Talya Zandberg.
ASU completed the sweep with three straight wins in singles. Argyrokastriti defeated Heynemans 6-3, 6-4 at No. 5, John-Baptiste won over Zandberg 6-4, 6-1 at No. 3 and Morlet defeated Amos 6-4, 6-3 at No. 4.
ASU will play next at the Pac-12 Championships in San Diego beginning on April 23.
Men
No. 28 ASU men's tennis finished its regular season Saturday with a 4-0 loss to rival No. 23 UA in Tempe. Despite the final score, the match was highly contested throughout in both singles and doubles.
In doubles, freshman Max McKennon and sophomore Christian Lerby won at No. 3. However, the pair of sophomore George Stoupe and senior Makey Rakotomalala lost 6-4 at No. 2. Seniors Nathan Ponwith and Tim Ruehl then fell in a tiebreak at No. 1, allowing the Wildcats to secure the doubles point.
In singles play, only two matches were decided in straight sets. Ponwith fell 6-4, 6-4 to freshman Gustaf Strom, and Lerby fell 7-5, 6-4 at No. 6. While the other four matches all went to third sets, UA clinched the win at No. 2 when junior Jonas Ziverts came back from a set down to defeat Rakotomalala.
The defeat also meant the final home match of the careers of four ASU seniors, three of whom — Rakotomalala, Ruehl and Andrea Bolla — have been with the program since its reinstatement in 2017. Bolla, normally a fixture in the lineup, did not play.
ASU will travel to San Diego next to compete in the Pac-12 Championships, which begin on April 23.
Reach the reporters at lhertz@asu.edu and cbreber@asu.edu and follow @laurenrachell_ and @carsobi on Twitter.
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