Both ASU men's and women's tennis teams fell to their opponents this week. Men's tennis lost to Pepperdine University and the University of San Diego, while women's tennis was swept for the first time this season against Oklahoma State.
Men's Tennis
It has been an enthralling week for ASU men’s tennis as the team lost to both USD on Feb. 6 and No. 21 Pepperdine on Feb. 11, both by one score of 4-3.
Despite the losses, freshman Murphy Cassone entered the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's singles ranking this week at No. 67 after beating No. 7 singles player August Holmgren from USD in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.
Cassone also went on to beat No. 9 Daniel De Jonge from Pepperdine five days later 7-5, 2-6, 7-5.
“All the work I’ve put in over the last two months came together,” Cassone said after beating Holmgren. “(Head coach Matt Hill) trusts me to win, it’s all I can ask for in a coach.”
The doubles team of co-captains senior Fabien Salle and sophomore Max McKennon went from No. 42 on the ITA doubles rankings to No. 23 even with a loss to Holmgren and graduate student Gui Osorio 6-4 from the Toreros. However, they rebounded with a win on Friday against senior Corrado Summaria and graduate student Eero Vasa from Pepperdine 6-3.
“Overall, it’s super disappointing, we want to win every match,” Hill said. “But, we’re in a process right now. We have a lot of guys we are learning about, we’re seeing lots of growth.”
The Sun Devils went one for two on the lone doubles point this week. Junior Jacob Bullard and Cassone also went one for two on doubles this week, losing to freshman Iiro Vasa and senior Will Davies from USD 6-4 and winning against De Jonge and graduate student Andrew Rogers from Pepperdine 6-3.
Singles matches were strong for ASU this week, winning three singles against the Toreros and two against Pepperdine including two big upset wins by Cassone, followed by a Salle upset against No. 22 Pietro Fellin in straight sets at Pepperdine 6-3, 6-3.
“First match this year (against San Diego) we won three singles,” Hill said. “We have been putting a ton of emphasis on singles for that very reason, we feel there is a lot of growth there compared to even two weeks ago.”
The Sun Devils won’t get a chance to end their six-game losing streak until the ASU 8-team invite on February 25 at the Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe.
“We have to free up a little bit,” Hill said. “When you lose a couple of close ones in a row, it starts to eat at you a little bit.”
Women's Tennis
For the first time all season, ASU women’s tennis was swept 4-0 after a road loss at No. 22 Oklahoma State on Saturday.
The Sun Devils fell in doubles, losing on courts two and three. Sophomores Giulia Morlet and Marianna Argyrokastriti struggled against senior Lisa Marie Rioux and junior Ayumi Miyamoto, losing 6-1. Seniors Cali Jankowski and Sedona Gallagher fell 6-4 before freshman Patricija Spaka and senior Domenika Turkovic finished their match up 5-4.
The Cowgirls followed up by dominating singles. Gallagher and Spaka were the only Sun Devils to win the first set of singles play. They started off hot, winning the first set of their respective matches but were cut short after the Cowgirls finished off Morlet, Turkovic and Argyrokastriti in two sets.
ASU welcomes Kansas State University (4-1) to Tempe on Feb. 20 for the first match of a five-match home stand.
Reach the reporters at vdeange1@asu.edu and dstipano@asu.edu and follow @vdeangelis2024 and @dstipanovichh on Twitter.
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Vincent Deangelis is a full-time reporter for the sports department at The State Press. He has previously worked for Arizona PBS and AZPreps365.com.
