LOS ANGELES – Making their second trip to southern California on the season, the No. 26 Sun Devil men's tennis program travels to Los Angeles to take on No. 4 Ohio State and participate in the BNP Paribas Collegiate Tennis Challenge this week.
Both universities make the trek to the Griffin Club in Los Angeles, the neutral site for the midweek matchup on Wednesday. The club is one of the premiere country clubs in California, boasting an invite-only, members-only atmosphere that originally opened in 1926 as a club for actors and entertainers.
"We are extremely excited and lucky to be playing at both the Griffin Club and the Indian Wells Tennis Garden," coach Matt Hill said.
Despite the Buckeyes holding the higher ranking over the Sun Devils this season, ASU has had a successful history against Ohio State, winning both previous affairs between the two programs.
However, musical icons like Chicago, Phil Collins and Bon Jovi claimed the tops of the music charts he last time the two programs faced off in 1989, as the Devils handed Ohio State a 6-3 loss.
Just one weekend after the likes of Rodger Federer, Novak Djokovic and the Williams sisters graced the courts at Indian Wells, ASU looks to write its name with some of the premiere prestigious collegiate programs in the country at that same venue. They share the stage with some familiar foes in No. 39 California and No. 45 Loyola Marymount, along with fellow Pac-12 opponent No. 11 USC.
"We're so excited to play at a prestigious venue right after some of the top professional talent," Hill said. "There's going to be some great tennis this week for us, and it's going to be a special experience."
The Challenge features a bracket-style setup, with four first round matches sprinkled throughout the day and into the evening on Friday. Semifinals kickoff on Saturday, with the championship-crowning match set for Sunday.
The draws for the tournament are based off ITA/Oracle rankings and will be released Wednesday March 14.
All matches are slated to take place outdoors, as the Devils have never had an indoor matchup this season.
"It's great that we have been outdoors the entire season so far," Hill said. "The NCAA tournament in May is outdoors, so it's good preparation."
The matchup with the Buckeyes gets going Wednesday at 5 p.m. MST. The Devils then travel east to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden for the Collegiate Tennis Challenge from March 16-18.
RANKINGS UPDATE
After a 4-3 loss to No. 2 Stanford and a rainout against No. 46 California, the Devils check in at No. 26 in this week's Oracle/ITA poll, down six spots from No. 20 last week.
Sitting behind only No. 3 UCLA and No. 11 USC, the Devils are the third-highest ranked program in the conference and currently sit at sixth in the standings with a 0-1 conference record.
A few steps behind the Devils are Utah (33), California (39) and Oregon (47).
GET TO KNOW THE BUCKEYES
The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes are heading into this week 12-2 in dual match play, including a solid 6-1 record against top-20 teams, five of those ranked in the top-10.
They boast wins against No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 9 Florida, No. 10 Texas (sweep), No. 12 Duke (sweep), and No. 19 Notre Dame. Their two losses are to No. 4 UCLA in the quarterfinals of ITA Indoors, and No. 21 Georgia this past Wednesday.
The Buckeyes possess four top-60 singles players, including the No. 2 player in the country in Mikael Torpegaard, and a top-10 doubles pairing.
Both universities make the trek to the Griffin Club in Los Angeles, the neutral site for the midweek matchup on Wednesday. The club is one of the premiere country clubs in California, boasting an invite-only, members-only atmosphere that originally opened in 1926 as a club for actors and entertainers.
"We are extremely excited and lucky to be playing at both the Griffin Club and the Indian Wells Tennis Garden," coach Matt Hill said.
Despite the Buckeyes holding the higher ranking over the Sun Devils this season, ASU has had a successful history against Ohio State, winning both previous affairs between the two programs.
However, musical icons like Chicago, Phil Collins and Bon Jovi claimed the tops of the music charts he last time the two programs faced off in 1989, as the Devils handed Ohio State a 6-3 loss.
Just one weekend after the likes of Rodger Federer, Novak Djokovic and the Williams sisters graced the courts at Indian Wells, ASU looks to write its name with some of the premiere prestigious collegiate programs in the country at that same venue. They share the stage with some familiar foes in No. 39 California and No. 45 Loyola Marymount, along with fellow Pac-12 opponent No. 11 USC.
"We're so excited to play at a prestigious venue right after some of the top professional talent," Hill said. "There's going to be some great tennis this week for us, and it's going to be a special experience."
The Challenge features a bracket-style setup, with four first round matches sprinkled throughout the day and into the evening on Friday. Semifinals kickoff on Saturday, with the championship-crowning match set for Sunday.
The draws for the tournament are based off ITA/Oracle rankings and will be released Wednesday March 14.
All matches are slated to take place outdoors, as the Devils have never had an indoor matchup this season.
"It's great that we have been outdoors the entire season so far," Hill said. "The NCAA tournament in May is outdoors, so it's good preparation."
The matchup with the Buckeyes gets going Wednesday at 5 p.m. MST. The Devils then travel east to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden for the Collegiate Tennis Challenge from March 16-18.
RANKINGS UPDATE
After a 4-3 loss to No. 2 Stanford and a rainout against No. 46 California, the Devils check in at No. 26 in this week's Oracle/ITA poll, down six spots from No. 20 last week.
Sitting behind only No. 3 UCLA and No. 11 USC, the Devils are the third-highest ranked program in the conference and currently sit at sixth in the standings with a 0-1 conference record.
A few steps behind the Devils are Utah (33), California (39) and Oregon (47).
GET TO KNOW THE BUCKEYES
The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes are heading into this week 12-2 in dual match play, including a solid 6-1 record against top-20 teams, five of those ranked in the top-10.
They boast wins against No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 9 Florida, No. 10 Texas (sweep), No. 12 Duke (sweep), and No. 19 Notre Dame. Their two losses are to No. 4 UCLA in the quarterfinals of ITA Indoors, and No. 21 Georgia this past Wednesday.
The Buckeyes possess four top-60 singles players, including the No. 2 player in the country in Mikael Torpegaard, and a top-10 doubles pairing.