Showtime ?? pic.twitter.com/mk8gRedRCa
— Sun Devil M. Tennis (@SunDevilMTennis) April 15, 2018
Facing against two of the top-ranked doubles pairs in the country, the Sun Devils dropped straight matches to concede the first point to the Trojans. The tandem of Michaël Geerts and Tim Ruehl dropped their match, 6-2, to the 10th-ranked Brandon Holt/Riley Smith, and Makey Rakotomalala/Andrea Bolla suffered the same fate to their 12th-ranked opponent, 6-3.
Down by a point heading into singles play, the Sun Devils and the Trojans were an even keeled match right from the start.
Benjamin Hannestad took the victory on court two first, gliding past No. 84 Daniel Cuckierman in straight sets. The 6-4, 6-4 victory marked Hannestad's third on the season over a ranked opponent and snapped a two-game skid for the Dane.
Benjie defeats Cuckierman in straight sets 6-4, 6-4! ??
— Sun Devil M. Tennis (@SunDevilMTennis) April 15, 2018
Score: 1-1#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/YotQLycFDm
The Trojans caught some momentum from there on out, taking three-straight victories on courts five, three and six to secure the 4-1 win. Andrea Bolla fell first, losing to Riley Smith 7-5, 6-3. Despite coming out on the wrong side of the matchup, Bolla fought hard in both sets, holding a 2-1 lead early on in the first set.
Rakotomalala took the loss next, fighting to a 5-5 tie in the first set, but ultimately dropping it 7-5. He then dropped his second set by a final of 6-4 to give USC a 3-1 lead.
Needing just one more point to win with three more matches in play, the Trojans held a lead on just one court. Tim Ruehl took a decisive 6-2 first-set win in his match, but dropped the second set 2-6 to force a third set. He held a 2-1 lead with a 40-40 tie, but his match was suspended when the Trojans clinched the victory.
Geerts was in charge of his match on court one as well, going back-and-forth with yet another top-ranked opponent. No. 13 Brandon Holt took the first set of their matchup 4-6, but Geerts came out on top in the second set. The set stood at a 4-4 stalemate, but the Belgian rallied to a 6-4 victory to also force a decisive third set. Geerts too held a 2-1 lead, but was also suspended.
The Trojans clinched the match with a win on court six, as Kirkman fought hard, but couldn't pull out the victory. He and opponent Jack DeVine played an exciting match all game long, with Kirkman up 2-0 early in the first set. DeVine worked to a 5-5 tie and eventually came out on top with a 7-6 first-set win, but Kirkman didn't give up there. The Dominican was down 1-2 early on, but kept himself within striking distance the entire time. He eventually fell by a final of 6-3.
The Sun Devils are back in action next Saturday to take on rival Arizona in the Territorial Cup. The matchup will also entail Senior Day festivities for the lone senior Michaël Geerts. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
USC: 4
ASU: 1
Doubles Finals:
1. No. 10 Holt/R. Smith (USC) def. Geerts/Ruehl (ASU) | 6-2
2. No. 12 Jaede/Verboven (USC) def. Rakotomalala/Bolla (ASU) | 6-3
3. Hannestad/Kirkman (ASU) vs. DeVine/T. Smith (USC) | 5-2 unf.
Order of Finish: 1, 2
Singles Finals:
1. No. 27 Michaël Geerts (ASU) vs. No. 13 Brandon Holt (USC) | 4-6, 7-5, 2-1 unf.
2. No. 72 Ben Hannestad (ASU) def. No. 84 Daniel Cuckierman (USC) | 6-4, 6-4
3. Laurens Verboven (USC) def. Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) | 7-5, 6-4
4. Tim Ruehl (ASU) vs. Thibault Forget (USC) | 6-2, 2-6, 2-1 unf.
5. Riley Smith (USC) def. Andrea Bolla (ASU) | 7-5, 6-3
6. Jake DeVine (USC) def. Will Kirkman (ASU) | 7-6, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 3, 6