TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Sun Devil men's tennis team finishes up their home stand this weekend, playing host to Fresno State, Cal Poly and Loyola Marymount in the ASU Invitational on Feb. 9-10 at the Whiteman Tennis Center.
After dropping their third match last week to No. 10 TCU to start the season 0-3, the Devils look to turn the tide using the tournament.
See below for complete schedule:
ORACLE/IT(YAY)
ITA released their first singles poll of the season on Wednesday, and three Devils found themselves on the list. No. 38 Benjamin Hannestad and No. 70 Michael Geerts remained on the list after ranking 44 and 51, respectively, in the preseason poll. Makey Rakotomalala broke the list this time around, debuting at No. 90 after a solid 2-1 start to the season in singles. Rakotomala's resume boasts wins over players from the top-ranked programs in the country, including No. 20 Duke and No. 6 Texas A&M. Hannestad nabbed the Devils a singles point against Duke, defeating Catalin Mateas in two sets, 7-5, 6-3. Only Stanford has more players ranked by ITA, as their four players takes the top spot.
No. of Players Ranked
Stanford: 4
ASU: 3
UCLA: 3
California: 2
USC: 2
Oregon: 1
Washington: 1
Utah: 1
Arizona: 0
LAST TIME OUT
The Devils welcomed No. 10 TCU two weekends ago, dropping the match 5-2. ASU dropped the doubles matches on courts one and three to concede the doubles point, and Tim Ruehl defeated Guillermo Nuñez and Will Kirkman defeated Bertus Kruger to nab two points for the Devils in singles play.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
LMU comes into the ASU Invitational at 3-1, and despite posting a 7-15 record last season, the Lions began 2018 with two all-WCC honorees from the previous season. Gabriel Diaz-Freire and Nick Borchenko earned second-team and honorable mention honors, respectively, in singles play, and the two also earned a place on the all-conference team as a doubles tandem. They roll into town fresh off a 4-0 win over New Mexico State and are on a three-match win streak.
The Bulldogs of Fresno State are led by Luke Shields, who earned the honor of MWC Coach of the Year for his team's run to the semifinals and four all-conference honorees. The Bulldogs put a freshman on the all-conference team for the first time school history in 2017 in Zdenek Derkas. Xander Veys was also added to the all-MWC singles team and he and Patrik Pech earned an all-MWC doubles team nod.
Cal Poly returns only one all-conference singles performer from a season ago, but they entered the season as defending Big West champions for the second time under head coach Nick Carless. The Mustangs hold a 5-1 record coming into Tempe, including a win over Fresno State, whom they first on Friday, 4-2 at home on Sunday.
SERIES HISTORIES
The Devils and Lions have faced off three times in program history, with the Devils holding a comfortable 3-0 series lead. Their last match up came in 2008, when LMU came into town and dropped the match 6-1. That point is one of two points the Lions have scored off the Devils in history, as ASU took commanding 7-0 and 6-1 wins in their other two face-offs in 2001 and 2003, respectively. ASU was ranked No. 34 in the 2003 matchup.
The most of any of the teams in the Invitational, ASU and Fresno State have faced off five times in program history, with the Devils again holding a 3-2 advantage. The Bulldogs took the last match between the two, taking place in 2003 with the Devils losing 2-4. The other face offs came in 1999, 1991, 1990 and 1987, with the Devils going 4-3, 6-0, 4-5, and 5-1, respectively.
Rounding out the tournament, ASU will face the Cal Poly Mustangs, with the Devils holding a 2-0 series history lead. Their two matchups came in 2002 and 2000.
MR. WORLDWIDE
With just one Devil from the United States, the men's tennis team is one of the most diverse teams within ASU Athletics. Every single Devil represents a different nation, as the nine men hail from nine different countries across the world: Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, the Dominican Republic, France, Germany, the U.S. and Great Britain. Thomas Wright, Will Kirkman, Benjamin Hannestad, Michael Geerts and Makey Rakotomalala arrived at Arizona State for the Spring 2017 semester, taking classes and practicing as a team before the team would officially become a program the following spring. The remaining four were all incoming freshman this fall, joining the team in August.
UP HILL BATTLE
Coach Matt Hill is no stranger to adversity. Upon taking the helm at South Florida in 2012, the Bulls hadn't been to the NCAA Division I Championship since 2009. Hill's team finished 8-14 in his first season, but the tide quickly changed under his mentorship, as they compiled a 12-10 record the following year and then found themselves in the Championship for the first time in five years the next season. The team made it to the second round and were eliminated by Florida, but Hill's team made the tournament the next two years as well, finishing as high as the Sweet 16 in 2015. USF were back-to-back-to-back AAC Champions in Hill's final three years in Tampa, compiling a 82-47 record. He was a three-time American Conference Coach of the Year and mentored a three-time American Athletic Conference Player of the Year in Roberto Cid.
COACH HILL'S YEAR-BY-YEAR
Year: Record (Place in NCAA Tournament)
2012: 8-14 (DNC)
2013: 12-10 (DNC)
2014: 19-10 (AAC Champions // Second Round)
2015: 22-7 (AAC Champions // Sweet 16)
2016: 21-9 (AAC Champions // Second Round)
SOUTHWEST REGIONAL CHAMPIONS
The doubles pair of Benjamin Hannestad and Tim Ruehl won the 2017 ITA Southwest Regional Championship in the fall, and then Hannestad decided he wanted more and took home the singles title. Held at both Malibu's Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center and the Crest Tennis Courts and hosted by Pepperdine, Hannestad and Ruehl defeated Pedro Iamachkine and Lautaro Pane of Pepperdine 6-4, 6-3 to earn the doubles title, and then Hannestad closed the deal with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over Nicolas Moreno de Alboran of UCSB. USC and UCLA had dominated the tournament in the past, winning every singles titles since 2009 and five doubles championships. Hannestad defeated three Pac-12 competitors on the way to his singles title.
RECENT ITA REGIONAL SOUTHWEST CHAMPIONS
2017: Benjamin Hannestad (Arizona State); Benjamin Hannestad/Tim Ruehl (Arizona State)
2016: Gage Brymer (UCLA); Simond Freund/Morgan Mays (UCSB)
2015: Martin Redlicki (UCLA); Jordan Angus/Filip Vittek (San Diego)
2014: Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA); Mackenzie McDonald/Martin Redlicki (UCLA)
2013: Yannick Hanfmann (USC); Max de Vroome/Eric Johnson (USC)
2012: Marcos Giron (UCLA); Yannick Hanfmann/Eric Johson (USC)
2011: Ray Sarmiento (USC); Nikola Bubnic/Thibaut Visy (San Diego)
2010: Daniel Nguyen (USC); Amit Inbar/Nick Mesiter (UCLA)
2009: Amit Inbar (USC); Robert Farrah/Steve Johnson (USC)
REGIONAL CHAMPION NOTE
There were 12 ITA Regional Championships held Oct. 13-23, Benjamin Hannestad was the only player to win both a singles and doubles title in 2017. Others to do it in past three seasons are Skander Mansouri (Wake Forest/2016) and Sam Monette (Indiana/2015).
BRING IT ON
ASU is playing one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation in its comeback season, and that is something first-year mentor Matt Hill plans on making a tradition. The Sun Devils will face Big Ten champion Ohio State and began its season hosting No. 25 Duke, Big 12 champion TCU and SEC co-champion Texas A&M. Ohio State who has won the Big Ten title seven times, including a title in 2017.
?? Match times for the ASU Invitational have been changed! You don't want to miss them ?? pic.twitter.com/6cGE2FE0bc
— Sun Devil M. Tennis (@SunDevilMTennis) February 6, 2018
After dropping their third match last week to No. 10 TCU to start the season 0-3, the Devils look to turn the tide using the tournament.
See below for complete schedule:
Friday 2/9
ASU v LMU @ 9am
Fresno v Cal Poly @ 12pm
(Guaranteed 60 minute break between 2nd and 3rd matches)
ASU v Fresno Singles @ 3pm
Saturday 2/10
ASU v Fresno @ 9am – If needed based on the results from 2/9 ASU v Fresno
LMU v Fresno @ 10am
Cal Poly v ASU @ 1pm
ORACLE/IT(YAY)
ITA released their first singles poll of the season on Wednesday, and three Devils found themselves on the list. No. 38 Benjamin Hannestad and No. 70 Michael Geerts remained on the list after ranking 44 and 51, respectively, in the preseason poll. Makey Rakotomalala broke the list this time around, debuting at No. 90 after a solid 2-1 start to the season in singles. Rakotomala's resume boasts wins over players from the top-ranked programs in the country, including No. 20 Duke and No. 6 Texas A&M. Hannestad nabbed the Devils a singles point against Duke, defeating Catalin Mateas in two sets, 7-5, 6-3. Only Stanford has more players ranked by ITA, as their four players takes the top spot.
No. of Players Ranked
Stanford: 4
ASU: 3
UCLA: 3
California: 2
USC: 2
Oregon: 1
Washington: 1
Utah: 1
Arizona: 0
The first #OracleITARankings of 2018 are out featuring 3 Sun Devils! ?? pic.twitter.com/3RJEaGI42W
— Sun Devil M. Tennis (@SunDevilMTennis) February 7, 2018
LAST TIME OUT
The Devils welcomed No. 10 TCU two weekends ago, dropping the match 5-2. ASU dropped the doubles matches on courts one and three to concede the doubles point, and Tim Ruehl defeated Guillermo Nuñez and Will Kirkman defeated Bertus Kruger to nab two points for the Devils in singles play.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
LMU comes into the ASU Invitational at 3-1, and despite posting a 7-15 record last season, the Lions began 2018 with two all-WCC honorees from the previous season. Gabriel Diaz-Freire and Nick Borchenko earned second-team and honorable mention honors, respectively, in singles play, and the two also earned a place on the all-conference team as a doubles tandem. They roll into town fresh off a 4-0 win over New Mexico State and are on a three-match win streak.
The Bulldogs of Fresno State are led by Luke Shields, who earned the honor of MWC Coach of the Year for his team's run to the semifinals and four all-conference honorees. The Bulldogs put a freshman on the all-conference team for the first time school history in 2017 in Zdenek Derkas. Xander Veys was also added to the all-MWC singles team and he and Patrik Pech earned an all-MWC doubles team nod.
Cal Poly returns only one all-conference singles performer from a season ago, but they entered the season as defending Big West champions for the second time under head coach Nick Carless. The Mustangs hold a 5-1 record coming into Tempe, including a win over Fresno State, whom they first on Friday, 4-2 at home on Sunday.
SERIES HISTORIES
The Devils and Lions have faced off three times in program history, with the Devils holding a comfortable 3-0 series lead. Their last match up came in 2008, when LMU came into town and dropped the match 6-1. That point is one of two points the Lions have scored off the Devils in history, as ASU took commanding 7-0 and 6-1 wins in their other two face-offs in 2001 and 2003, respectively. ASU was ranked No. 34 in the 2003 matchup.
The most of any of the teams in the Invitational, ASU and Fresno State have faced off five times in program history, with the Devils again holding a 3-2 advantage. The Bulldogs took the last match between the two, taking place in 2003 with the Devils losing 2-4. The other face offs came in 1999, 1991, 1990 and 1987, with the Devils going 4-3, 6-0, 4-5, and 5-1, respectively.
Rounding out the tournament, ASU will face the Cal Poly Mustangs, with the Devils holding a 2-0 series history lead. Their two matchups came in 2002 and 2000.
MR. WORLDWIDE
With just one Devil from the United States, the men's tennis team is one of the most diverse teams within ASU Athletics. Every single Devil represents a different nation, as the nine men hail from nine different countries across the world: Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, the Dominican Republic, France, Germany, the U.S. and Great Britain. Thomas Wright, Will Kirkman, Benjamin Hannestad, Michael Geerts and Makey Rakotomalala arrived at Arizona State for the Spring 2017 semester, taking classes and practicing as a team before the team would officially become a program the following spring. The remaining four were all incoming freshman this fall, joining the team in August.
UP HILL BATTLE
Coach Matt Hill is no stranger to adversity. Upon taking the helm at South Florida in 2012, the Bulls hadn't been to the NCAA Division I Championship since 2009. Hill's team finished 8-14 in his first season, but the tide quickly changed under his mentorship, as they compiled a 12-10 record the following year and then found themselves in the Championship for the first time in five years the next season. The team made it to the second round and were eliminated by Florida, but Hill's team made the tournament the next two years as well, finishing as high as the Sweet 16 in 2015. USF were back-to-back-to-back AAC Champions in Hill's final three years in Tampa, compiling a 82-47 record. He was a three-time American Conference Coach of the Year and mentored a three-time American Athletic Conference Player of the Year in Roberto Cid.
COACH HILL'S YEAR-BY-YEAR
Year: Record (Place in NCAA Tournament)
2012: 8-14 (DNC)
2013: 12-10 (DNC)
2014: 19-10 (AAC Champions // Second Round)
2015: 22-7 (AAC Champions // Sweet 16)
2016: 21-9 (AAC Champions // Second Round)
SOUTHWEST REGIONAL CHAMPIONS
The doubles pair of Benjamin Hannestad and Tim Ruehl won the 2017 ITA Southwest Regional Championship in the fall, and then Hannestad decided he wanted more and took home the singles title. Held at both Malibu's Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center and the Crest Tennis Courts and hosted by Pepperdine, Hannestad and Ruehl defeated Pedro Iamachkine and Lautaro Pane of Pepperdine 6-4, 6-3 to earn the doubles title, and then Hannestad closed the deal with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over Nicolas Moreno de Alboran of UCSB. USC and UCLA had dominated the tournament in the past, winning every singles titles since 2009 and five doubles championships. Hannestad defeated three Pac-12 competitors on the way to his singles title.
RECENT ITA REGIONAL SOUTHWEST CHAMPIONS
2017: Benjamin Hannestad (Arizona State); Benjamin Hannestad/Tim Ruehl (Arizona State)
2016: Gage Brymer (UCLA); Simond Freund/Morgan Mays (UCSB)
2015: Martin Redlicki (UCLA); Jordan Angus/Filip Vittek (San Diego)
2014: Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA); Mackenzie McDonald/Martin Redlicki (UCLA)
2013: Yannick Hanfmann (USC); Max de Vroome/Eric Johnson (USC)
2012: Marcos Giron (UCLA); Yannick Hanfmann/Eric Johson (USC)
2011: Ray Sarmiento (USC); Nikola Bubnic/Thibaut Visy (San Diego)
2010: Daniel Nguyen (USC); Amit Inbar/Nick Mesiter (UCLA)
2009: Amit Inbar (USC); Robert Farrah/Steve Johnson (USC)
REGIONAL CHAMPION NOTE
There were 12 ITA Regional Championships held Oct. 13-23, Benjamin Hannestad was the only player to win both a singles and doubles title in 2017. Others to do it in past three seasons are Skander Mansouri (Wake Forest/2016) and Sam Monette (Indiana/2015).
BRING IT ON
ASU is playing one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation in its comeback season, and that is something first-year mentor Matt Hill plans on making a tradition. The Sun Devils will face Big Ten champion Ohio State and began its season hosting No. 25 Duke, Big 12 champion TCU and SEC co-champion Texas A&M. Ohio State who has won the Big Ten title seven times, including a title in 2017.