TEMPE, Ariz. – No. 20 Sun Devil men's tennis returns home after a successful road trip to take on No. 3 Stanford and California on Thursday and Saturday at the Whiteman Tennis Center.
One week after their first road trip, ASU (8-3) returns home after a trip to Montgomery, Alabama, for the 70th Annual Blue Gray Tennis Classic. At the oldest collegiate tennis tournament in the country, the young Devils defeated No. 33 Alabama – who was previously 14-0 – and came back to Tempe with some new hardware, becoming the 2018 champions and the first Pac-12 school to win the prestigious event.
"In the early rounds, I saw significantly better doubles, which is key," coach Matt Hill said. "Particularly in the finals, I saw some grit and some team chemistry - something we've been working on - to really help us over the edge."
Innovation is something the Sun Devils hope to create as the last time they met the Cardinal was in 2008, when No. 27 Stanford beat ASU in Palo Alto. It is a big match as ASU is on the rise in the ITA/Oracle national rankings, notching a No. 13 ranking last week – the highest since they were ranked No. 11 on March 13, 2008. Stanford was ranked the No. 2 team in the country for the second-straight week.
"I think it speaks a lot about the guys we have on our team because of how much they're competing and growing," Hill said. "It was exciting to be ranked No. 13, but there's a lot of tennis still to be played for us."
Led by last week's Pac-12 Tennis Player of the Week Michaël Geerts, the Devils have won their last eight matchups. Geerts himself is on a six-match singles win streak, and his victory against No. 113 Mazen Osama clinched the match for ASU. It was his second match-clinching point on the season.
Although Cal owns a 4-4 record so far this spring, they have played some of the top-ranked teams in the country including No. 2 Stanford, No. 8 Michigan and No. 9 Illinois.
"We're progressing well, there's no question about it," Hill said. "Our schedule is going to get rough again because there's a lot less you can get away with when you play tougher teams, but we'll be tested and it'll be exciting to see what it shows us."
Follow the action on Twitter on @SunDevilMTennis or visit pac-12.com/LIVE to watch the matchup on ASU's Live Stream.
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 No. 10 TCU and SEC co-champion No. 7 Texas A&M. Ohio State who has won the Big Ten title seven times, including a title in 2017.
Get to Know the Cardinal
Stanford rolls into Tempe at 10-1, with their only loss coming against No. 1 Wake Forest in the semifinals of the ITA National Indoor Championships in Seattle. Stanford has won 21 team conference championships. The Cardinal has a whopping 21 NCAA team national championships in its program history, including five-straight titles from 1995-2000.
Get to Know the Golden Bears
Even though Cal holds a 4-4 record, looks can be deceiving as they have played some of the top-ranked teams in the nation so far in No. 2 Stanford, No. 8 Michigan and No. 9 Illinois, among others. The Golden Bears are coming off a 4-0 sweep of San Diego State last Thursday, and also participated in the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships. Three pairs reached the Round of 16, however, they were ousted in the Quarterfinals.
Mr. Worldwide(s)
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.
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.
Rak It Up
First in wins on the team with seven, Makey Rakotomalala opened up his ASU career in a big way. Rakotomalala owns a 7-3 singles record, including wins over No. 41 Jordi Arconada of Texas A&M, who participated in the French and U.S. Open along with Wimbledon as a junior. Rakotomalala swept the ASU Invitational in singles, playing a third set only once on the weekend to glide past LMU, Fresno State and Cal Poly. The France native is the definition of clutch, as his singles win against LMU clinched the first victory for the Devils since disbanding as a program in 2008. Rakotomalala is 2-0 on the season against ranked opponents and and 2-2 in matches that go into three sets.
Geerts the Victory
Senior Michaël Geerts is on a hot streak as of late, racking up a Pac-12 Player of the Week honor last week after his match-clinching point over No. 33 Alabama notched the Devils the first Blue Gray Tennis Tournament title in school history. The honor was ASU's fifth in school history and Geerts was also named tournament MVP. Geerts is on a six-match win streak on court one, and has not lost a match since his game against No. 7 Texas A&M. The Belgian has two match-clinching points on the season and is also 2-1 in three-set matches .