INDIAN WELLS – No. 26 Arizona State men's tennis attempted to stage a comeback after conceding the doubles point to the California Golden Bears, but the loss of a potential key match proved to be too overwhelming, falling just short, 4-3.
The Bears proved to be an even-keeled match for the Devils, as the two teams battled it out from the very beginning of doubles play. The pair of Makey Rakotomalala/Andrea Bolla gave ASU the advantage with a dominating 6-1 win on court two, however, Cal equalized the matchup with a 6-1 win of their own on court three.
The back-and-forth affair came down to Michaël Geerts/Tim Ruehl, with the tandem looking to start a two-game win streak. The odds were in the Devils' favor in this matchup, as Geerts/Ruehl had already defeated their opponents, No. 32 Billy Griffith/JT Nishimura, earlier this month when the Bears were in Tempe.
ASU held a 4-3 lead in the match, but Cal quickly evened the advantage to tie 5-5. Headed into an intense tiebreaker, the Bears outlasted the Devils tandem, taking the final set 7-3 to take a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
Rakotomalala kicked things into over drive to give his team a chance at a comeback to begin singles action. The Frenchman took his first set 6-1 and followed with an equally dominating 6-3 second set to notch a quick victory and even the score at one apiece.
The Devils lead on five of the six courts at this point, but an injury to Thomas Wright would force ASU to forfeit that match, giving Cal a 2-1 lead.
Down but not out, Geerts stepped up to record his fourth-straight victory, this time in the form of a 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 52 Billy Griffith. The win marked the senior's third win over a ranked opponent this season, last defeating the No. 2 player in the country in Mikael Torpegaard of Ohio State last Wednesday.
Riding the momentum of his captain's win, Andrea Bolla added a victory of his own on court four, handing Paul Barretto 6-3, 6-4 loss. Bolla has also been heating up as of late, anchoring the fourth and fifth courts for the Devils with a five-game winning streak. The Italian has not lost a match in over a month, last dropping a 6-2, 7-6 game with Nico Borter of San Diego on February 17.
Bolla's victory secured a 3-2 lead for ASU, and it would come down to Ruehl and Will Kirkman's potential points to clinch the match. Kirkman fought his game to three sets on court five, but Ben Draper proved to be too much, handing Kirkman a 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 loss.
Ruehl dropped his first set 6-4 and fell behind early on in his second set. Attempting to pull off a comeback victory, Ruehl battled back to bring the set score to a close 3-4. However, Jack Molloy hit his strike to clinch the match for Cal, taking the second set by a final of 6-4 and a 4-3 win.
ASU returns home to the Whiteman Tennis Center this weekend to take on a non-conference opponent in New Mexico. Fans can follow the action, set to kick off at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 24, on Twitter by following @SunDevilMTennis.
CALIFORNIA 4
ARIZONA STATE 3
Doubles Finishes:
1. No. 32 Griffith/Nishimura (CAL) def. Geerts/Ruehl (ASU) vs. | 7-6 (3)
2. Bolla/Rakotomalala (ASU) def. Draper/Molloy (CAL) | 6-1
3. N. Barretto/Kaya (CAL) def. Kirkman/Wright (ASU) | 6-1
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles Finishes:
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 1, 4, 5, 3
Coin toss ??
— Sun Devil M. Tennis (@SunDevilMTennis) March 18, 2018
Doubles are underway for all the marbles! ?? pic.twitter.com/KnHMCKZt9i
The Bears proved to be an even-keeled match for the Devils, as the two teams battled it out from the very beginning of doubles play. The pair of Makey Rakotomalala/Andrea Bolla gave ASU the advantage with a dominating 6-1 win on court two, however, Cal equalized the matchup with a 6-1 win of their own on court three.
The back-and-forth affair came down to Michaël Geerts/Tim Ruehl, with the tandem looking to start a two-game win streak. The odds were in the Devils' favor in this matchup, as Geerts/Ruehl had already defeated their opponents, No. 32 Billy Griffith/JT Nishimura, earlier this month when the Bears were in Tempe.
ASU held a 4-3 lead in the match, but Cal quickly evened the advantage to tie 5-5. Headed into an intense tiebreaker, the Bears outlasted the Devils tandem, taking the final set 7-3 to take a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
Tie Break decides for the Doubles point. @CalMensTennis gets it vs. @SunDevilMTennis. Great crowd, thanks for supporting #collegetennis! 1:0. #BNPP018 Collegiate Challenge pic.twitter.com/p3Swkbfshu
— OracleTennis (@OracleTennis) March 18, 2018
Rakotomalala kicked things into over drive to give his team a chance at a comeback to begin singles action. The Frenchman took his first set 6-1 and followed with an equally dominating 6-3 second set to notch a quick victory and even the score at one apiece.
The Devils lead on five of the six courts at this point, but an injury to Thomas Wright would force ASU to forfeit that match, giving Cal a 2-1 lead.
Down but not out, Geerts stepped up to record his fourth-straight victory, this time in the form of a 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 52 Billy Griffith. The win marked the senior's third win over a ranked opponent this season, last defeating the No. 2 player in the country in Mikael Torpegaard of Ohio State last Wednesday.
Michael Geerts winning the number 1 Singles. 2:2 @SunDevilMTennis @CalMensTennis #BNPPO18 Collegiate Challenge pic.twitter.com/6uifzue5y5
— OracleTennis (@OracleTennis) March 18, 2018
Riding the momentum of his captain's win, Andrea Bolla added a victory of his own on court four, handing Paul Barretto 6-3, 6-4 loss. Bolla has also been heating up as of late, anchoring the fourth and fifth courts for the Devils with a five-game winning streak. The Italian has not lost a match in over a month, last dropping a 6-2, 7-6 game with Nico Borter of San Diego on February 17.
Bolla's victory secured a 3-2 lead for ASU, and it would come down to Ruehl and Will Kirkman's potential points to clinch the match. Kirkman fought his game to three sets on court five, but Ben Draper proved to be too much, handing Kirkman a 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 loss.
Ruehl dropped his first set 6-4 and fell behind early on in his second set. Attempting to pull off a comeback victory, Ruehl battled back to bring the set score to a close 3-4. However, Jack Molloy hit his strike to clinch the match for Cal, taking the second set by a final of 6-4 and a 4-3 win.
ASU returns home to the Whiteman Tennis Center this weekend to take on a non-conference opponent in New Mexico. Fans can follow the action, set to kick off at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 24, on Twitter by following @SunDevilMTennis.
CALIFORNIA 4
ARIZONA STATE 3
Doubles Finishes:
1. No. 32 Griffith/Nishimura (CAL) def. Geerts/Ruehl (ASU) vs. | 7-6 (3)
2. Bolla/Rakotomalala (ASU) def. Draper/Molloy (CAL) | 6-1
3. N. Barretto/Kaya (CAL) def. Kirkman/Wright (ASU) | 6-1
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles Finishes:
- No. 61 Michael Geerts (ASU) def. No. 52 Billy Griffith (CAL) | 6-4, 6-4
- No. 116 Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) def. JT Nishimura (CAL) | 6-1, 6-3
- Jack Molloy (CAL) def. Tim Ruehl (ASU) | 6-4, 6-4
- Andrea Bolla (ASU) def. Paul Barretto (CAL) |6-3, 6-4
- Ben Draper (CAL) def. Will Kirkman (ASU) | 6-3, 4-6, 6-0
- Jacob Brumm (CAL) def. Thomas Wright (ASU) | 6-3, 3-3 (ret.)
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 1, 4, 5, 3