The ASU men's tennis team has a chance for unprecedented success this weekend. After defeating No. 25 Florida State and Virginia Commonwealth on Jan. 28, the Sun Devils earned a spot at the ITA Division I National Men's Team Indoor Championship. This will be the team's first time since it was revitalized at ASU in 2018.
The tournament consists of the sixteen best teams in the nation. The vast majority of teams in the tournament are highly touted programs that have had recent success in men's collegiate tennis. ASU is an outsider.
That distinction gives the Sun Devils a chance to see where they're at compared to the best of college tennis.
ASU begins the weekend against No. 2 TCU, the 2022 and 2023 ITA National Team Indoor Champions, on Friday at 7 a.m. MST.
Win or lose, every team is guaranteed three matches. If ASU defeats TCU, they would move on in the bracket. If they lose, they play in the consolation tournament. Each team plays a singular match every subsequent day until the championship on Monday.
"This weekend is very important," senior Max McKennon said. "It's one of the biggest tournaments in college tennis, but we've got to look at it more as an amazing opportunity for us to do real damage."
Associate head coach Dominic Cotrone said he believes the tournament will provide a benchmark for the team to see where they're at compared to the best in the nation. While it may seem far-fetched considering the absolute gauntlet of the bracket, ASU is going for it all.
"The mindset is to go there and win the tournament," Cotrone said. "Even though the other teams are really good if we're getting on a plane and traveling across the country, the expectation is for us to be competitive with all the teams we're playing."
Although they haven't officially played against the strongest teams of college tennis yet, the Sun Devils already have a good understanding of their strengths and weaknesses.
Success begins at the top of the lineup for ASU. According to head coach Matt Hill, Murphy Cassone is one of the best players in college tennis, and Bor Artnak and McKennon are among the best players in the nation at lines two and three. Opponent matchups at the top of the lineup don’t matter all that much to Hill.
"It doesn't matter if we're playing a team that's number one, two, or three in the country, we're just as good as they are at the top of the lineup," Hill said.
Another strength for the Devils has been their success in the doubles point. Through seven matches, they’ve won the doubles point six times. The only time they didn’t secure the point, ASU was serving for the match-point up five games to three.
"The doubles point has been a really strong point for us this year," Hill said.
The key for ASU this season is their performance at the back of the lineup in the singles competition. Sophomore Roi Ginat, freshman Martin Vergara Del Puerto, and senior Jacob Bullard have made up that part of the lineup for the better part of the early season. If they can hit their stride, ASU is dangerous.
"We got some guys at the back of the lineup that are really starting to play good tennis," Hill said. "If those guys continue producing the way they are, really good things will happen."
READ MORE: ASU Men's Tennis Utilizes Depth and Determination as their key to success in 2024
Another overwhelming positive for the Sun Devils this season has been their cooperation as a team. There have been no conflicts despite their highly competitive environment. Everyone around the Whiteman Tennis Center appears to be more like friends than teammates or coaches.
"This is probably the closest group we've had in terms of the chemistry of the team," Cotrone said. "That's really important going into a tournament setting. We're in a really good spot there."
Staying healthy is also an important focal point for the weekend. Cotrone said the team's ability to take care of their bodies and pace themselves is something that needs improvement from past seasons. For Cassone, an unintended consequence that comes from top-tier competition is wear and tear.
"Every match is going to be close," Cassone said. "Every match is going to be tough physically and mentally so it's about how you handle your body and mind off the court."
Although the team is heavily anticipating the weekend, they are not sizing up any particular matches against certain opponents. Instead, the goal is for the team to play their best tennis possible.
Part of the reason for that mindset is the high level of parody within college tennis this year. There is little variance in skill levels between the top-ten ranked teams and bottom-twenty ranked teams in the country. This is why, according to Hill, plenty of lower-ranked teams are beating up on top-five teams such as No. 8 Columbia's victory over No. 5 Tennessee last Friday.
ASU should also be accustomed to such high-level competition because of their experience against very talented teams in the preseason, like Texas and LSU.
Hill said he can't help but acknowledge the opportunity this weekend holds for the program. If ASU shows out, they have the potential to enter an exclusive group as one of the best teams in college tennis. But as Hill notes, it's just as difficult to enter that class as it is easy to leave it.
At worst, the ITA National Men's Tennis Indoor Championship will be a valuable experience for the players and an important stepping stone for the program.
"Any time you play on a national stage like this, that helps the brand," Hill said. "It helps the self-belief for the players too. They're doing this for the first time, so it's good for them to get there and feel like they belong in that group."
However, this weekend isn't the end all be all; It's a benchmark to see where the Sun Devils stand.
For Hill, what's most important is that the team hits their stride in the later stages of the season. This weekend is an opportunity to strive toward that goal.
"Our goal is to be playing our best tennis in April and May," Hill said. "This is a great weekend to help us prepare for that to see where we're at, where we need to get better, and what we’re doing really well."
Edited by Vinny DeAngelis, Alysa Horton and Caera Learmonth.
Reach the reporter at jwkartso@asu.edu and follow @kartsonis3 on X.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on X.
