SEATTLE, Wash. – Finishing up their final road trip of the season, Sun Devil men's tennis sat down the Washington Huskies, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
ASU (13-7) made quick work of Washington in doubles play, taking the advantage in less than 30 minutes. Headlined by wins on courts one and three, the tandem of Michaël Geerts and Tim Ruehl finished up first, handing Washington a 6-1 loss. Will Kirkman and Ben Hannestad followed suit soon after, notching their second win as a tandem on the season. The duo have been gelling recently, winning two of their three matches since debuting as a pair against Utah.
Holding a 1-0 advantage headed into singles play, the Huskies didn't go down without a fight. Washington ceased ASU's momentum, winning two-straight singles matches on courts five and two to stake a 2-1 lead. Andrea Bolla suffered an uncharacteristic loss first, 6-4 6-2, and Hannestad's opponent proved to be too much as he too lost by the same score, 6-4, 6-2.
It was a back-and-forth matchup from there on out, with Kirkman stealing a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory on court six. The Dominican has been making the most of his playing time with Thomas Wright out due to injury, securing his third-straight win to again tie the game, this time 2-2.
Geerts suffered a three-set loss to No. 90 Jake Douglas, but Makey Rakotomalala picked up his teammate with a win of his own, defeating Enzo Sommer 6-7, 6-4, 6-4. Rakotomalala's victory knotted the score up at three apiece, leaving Ruehl the lone Devil still in action.
Dropping his first set 2-6, Ruehl powered to a second set victory, 7-6, to bring the match to a decisive third set. With a Devils win on the line, the German cruised to a 6-3 win in his third set to clinch the match for the Devils. Ruehl has been the epitome of clutch this season, clinching a team-high four victories for ASU including Friday's matchup against Oregon.
With the victory, ASU has won five of their past seven matches with three of those victories against ranked opponents.
The Sun Devils return home after a perfect 2-0 road trip to host UCLA and USC next weekend.
NO. 37 ARIZONA STATE: 4
WASHINGTON: 3
Doubles Finishes:
Order of Finish: 1, 3
Singles Finishes:
Order of Finish: 5, 2, 6, 1, 3, 4
ASU (13-7) made quick work of Washington in doubles play, taking the advantage in less than 30 minutes. Headlined by wins on courts one and three, the tandem of Michaël Geerts and Tim Ruehl finished up first, handing Washington a 6-1 loss. Will Kirkman and Ben Hannestad followed suit soon after, notching their second win as a tandem on the season. The duo have been gelling recently, winning two of their three matches since debuting as a pair against Utah.
Holding a 1-0 advantage headed into singles play, the Huskies didn't go down without a fight. Washington ceased ASU's momentum, winning two-straight singles matches on courts five and two to stake a 2-1 lead. Andrea Bolla suffered an uncharacteristic loss first, 6-4 6-2, and Hannestad's opponent proved to be too much as he too lost by the same score, 6-4, 6-2.
It was a back-and-forth matchup from there on out, with Kirkman stealing a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory on court six. The Dominican has been making the most of his playing time with Thomas Wright out due to injury, securing his third-straight win to again tie the game, this time 2-2.
Geerts suffered a three-set loss to No. 90 Jake Douglas, but Makey Rakotomalala picked up his teammate with a win of his own, defeating Enzo Sommer 6-7, 6-4, 6-4. Rakotomalala's victory knotted the score up at three apiece, leaving Ruehl the lone Devil still in action.
Dropping his first set 2-6, Ruehl powered to a second set victory, 7-6, to bring the match to a decisive third set. With a Devils win on the line, the German cruised to a 6-3 win in his third set to clinch the match for the Devils. Ruehl has been the epitome of clutch this season, clinching a team-high four victories for ASU including Friday's matchup against Oregon.
With the victory, ASU has won five of their past seven matches with three of those victories against ranked opponents.
The Sun Devils return home after a perfect 2-0 road trip to host UCLA and USC next weekend.
NO. 37 ARIZONA STATE: 4
WASHINGTON: 3
Doubles Finishes:
- Geerts/Ruehl (ASU) def. Lam/Sommer (UW) | 6-1
- No. 86 Rakotomalala/Bolla (ASU) vs. Douglas/Stewart (UW) | 4-4 unf.
- Kirkman/Hannestad (ASU) def. Davis/Alvares (UW) | 6-2
Order of Finish: 1, 3
Singles Finishes:
- No. 90 Jake Douglas (UW) def. No. 49 Michael Geerts (ASU) | 7-5, 1-6, 6-3
- No. 81 Mitch Stewart (UW) def. No. 66 Benjamin Hannestad (ASU) | 6-4, 6-2
- Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) def. Enzo Sommer (UW) | 6-7, 6-4, 6-4
- Tim Ruehl (ASU) def. Amit Batta (UW) | 2-6, 7-6, 6-3
- Jack Davis (UW) def. Andrea Bolla (UW) | 6-4, 6-2
- William Kirkman (ASU) def. Sebastian Hawken (UW) | 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish: 5, 2, 6, 1, 3, 4