SALT LAKE CITY -- In its first Pac-12 road trip of the season, Sun Devil men's tennis dropped a back-and-forth affair with the University of Utah, 4-3, on Saturday afternoon at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center.
The Sun Devils (11-7) got things started in Salt Lake on a high note, taking the doubles point in part by key victories from tandems Tim Ruehl/Michael Geerts and Benjamin Hannestad/William Kirkman. Today's victory marked the first time Hannestad and Kirkman made a pair on the court, with Ruehl and Geerts notching their fifth win as a tandem on the season in ASU's loss.
In singles play, the Utes tied things up at one apiece after Randy Cory of Utah handed Ruehl a 6-2, 6-4 loss on court one.
Makey Rakotomalala stepped up to stake a Devils lead in the match, taking a victory on court three through a 6-3, 7-6 win. The Utes struck again to tie the match up with a win on two over Hannestad, but the Devils showed resilience and did not give up easily.
With the score knotted at 2-2, Kirkman outlasted Joe Woolley in two sets that both went into tiebreakers. The Dominican legged out a 7-5, 7-6 win to stake another lead for ASU, this time up 3-2.
Utah hit their stride at this point, taking two-straight matches to pull out a victory over the Sun Devils. Dan Little defeated Geerts on court one and Santiago Sierra took his match on four over Andrea Bolla to to propel Utah to a gritty 4-3 victory over ASU. The loss ended Geerts' five-game win streak, but the Belgian still owns a hefty 11-2 record in his last 13 games.
The Sun Devils are back in action next weekend as they hit the road again, this time traveling up to the Pacific Northwest to take on Oregon and Washington. Fans can follow the action all season long by following @SunDevilMTennis on Twitter.
No. 39 UTAH 4, No. 34 ASU 3
Doubles (1,2,3)
Tim Ruehl/Michael Geerts (ASU) def. Randy Cory/Russell Benkaim (UTAH), 6-4
Joe Woolley/Egbert Weverink (UTAH) def. Makey Rakotomalala/Andrea Bolla (ASU), 6-4
Benjamin Hannestad/William Kirkman (ASU) def. Dan Little/Azat Hankuliyev (UTAH), 7-6
Singles (5,3,2,6,1,4)
Dan Little (UTAH) def. Michael Geerts (ASU), 7-5, 7-5
David Micevski (UTAH) def. Benjamin Hannestad (ASU), 7-5, 6-3
Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) def. Egbert Weverink (UTAH), 6-3, 7-6
Santiago Sierra (UTAH) def. Andrea Bolla (ASU), 3-6, 7-6, 6-2
Randy Cory (UTAH) def. Tim Ruehl (ASU), 6-2, 6-4
William Kirkman (ASU) def. Joe Woolley (UTAH), 7-5, 7-6
The Sun Devils (11-7) got things started in Salt Lake on a high note, taking the doubles point in part by key victories from tandems Tim Ruehl/Michael Geerts and Benjamin Hannestad/William Kirkman. Today's victory marked the first time Hannestad and Kirkman made a pair on the court, with Ruehl and Geerts notching their fifth win as a tandem on the season in ASU's loss.
In singles play, the Utes tied things up at one apiece after Randy Cory of Utah handed Ruehl a 6-2, 6-4 loss on court one.
Makey Rakotomalala stepped up to stake a Devils lead in the match, taking a victory on court three through a 6-3, 7-6 win. The Utes struck again to tie the match up with a win on two over Hannestad, but the Devils showed resilience and did not give up easily.
With the score knotted at 2-2, Kirkman outlasted Joe Woolley in two sets that both went into tiebreakers. The Dominican legged out a 7-5, 7-6 win to stake another lead for ASU, this time up 3-2.
Utah hit their stride at this point, taking two-straight matches to pull out a victory over the Sun Devils. Dan Little defeated Geerts on court one and Santiago Sierra took his match on four over Andrea Bolla to to propel Utah to a gritty 4-3 victory over ASU. The loss ended Geerts' five-game win streak, but the Belgian still owns a hefty 11-2 record in his last 13 games.
The Sun Devils are back in action next weekend as they hit the road again, this time traveling up to the Pacific Northwest to take on Oregon and Washington. Fans can follow the action all season long by following @SunDevilMTennis on Twitter.
No. 39 UTAH 4, No. 34 ASU 3
Doubles (1,2,3)
Tim Ruehl/Michael Geerts (ASU) def. Randy Cory/Russell Benkaim (UTAH), 6-4
Joe Woolley/Egbert Weverink (UTAH) def. Makey Rakotomalala/Andrea Bolla (ASU), 6-4
Benjamin Hannestad/William Kirkman (ASU) def. Dan Little/Azat Hankuliyev (UTAH), 7-6
Singles (5,3,2,6,1,4)
Dan Little (UTAH) def. Michael Geerts (ASU), 7-5, 7-5
David Micevski (UTAH) def. Benjamin Hannestad (ASU), 7-5, 6-3
Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) def. Egbert Weverink (UTAH), 6-3, 7-6
Santiago Sierra (UTAH) def. Andrea Bolla (ASU), 3-6, 7-6, 6-2
Randy Cory (UTAH) def. Tim Ruehl (ASU), 6-2, 6-4
William Kirkman (ASU) def. Joe Woolley (UTAH), 7-5, 7-6