TEMPE, Ariz. – In their first match in front of the home crowd this season, Arizona State men's tennis blanked Pepperdine, 7-0, on Saturday afternoon at the Whiteman Tennis Center. The charged was led by Dominik Kellovsky, who registered his first collegiate win and win over a ranked opponent in the match.
The Sun Devils and Waves faced off for the second-straight season, as ASU again swept last year's match 4-0. Similar to last season, ASU continued their dominant play against the Waves this time around in Tempe.
"We're always excited to play Pepperdine," coach Matt Hill said. "It was a great day for us, and it was good to see everybody kind of get into some tough situations because we want that. We want to see how they're handling that for when we're in the tougher matches.
ASU (2-3) continued their nearly perfect doubles play today, as the sophomore pair of Tim Ruehl and William Kirkman took their match over a duo from the Waves, 6-1, to put ASU at an advantage. On court one, the tandem of Nathan Ponwith and Dominik Kellovsky registered their second-straight win on the season, 6-3, to secure the doubles point for the Sun Devils. With that win, ASU has notched the first point in all five matches so far this year, a feat they didn't achieve until 12 matches into last season.
"It's not an easy point," Hill said. "It's one quick, short set, so you really have to be focused and take it one point at a time."
ASU took their hot start into singles play, as Makey Rakotomalala made quick work of his opponent in less than an hour, gliding past Scotland Garapedian of Pepperdine in straight-sets, 6-1, 6-0. The junior is undefeated this season in singles play, registering four wins so far.
To continue the Devil's winning ways, Kirkman defeated Felipe Galvao, 6-3, 6-1, to give the Sun Devils a 3-0 lead. The sophomore has proved to be spectacular in his second season, notching his second-straight victory.
The back three courts proved to come in clutch during the match as things continued to go the Devils' way. Justin Roberts followed suit shortly thereafter, registering his first singles win as a Sun Devil in straight-sets over Tim Zeitvoegl, 6-4, 6-2, to clinch the match, 4-0 for ASU. After Robert's match winning point, all matches were played out with ASU taking all six-singles matches.
"It was good to see Justin get one as well," Hill said. "He's been playing good tennis, he just hasn't been able to finish a match yet, so that was really good to see out of him."
Alongside his doubles win, Kellovsky earned the Sun Devils their fifth point of the day winning in straight-sets 6-4, 6-4 over No. 53 Adrian Oetzbach. The win represented the Czech Republic-native's first collegiate win, and also his first win over a ranked opponent.
"It was really good to see Dominik get off the court with a win," Hill said. "That guy, Adrian Oetzbach, is a really good player and had some good wins on the pro tour, so it was a good win for Dominik."
Ruehl notched his team-leading third victory of the season today, defeating his opponent 6-2, 7-6 (6) to leave it down to Ponwith on court two.
Ponwith ended the day with a win over Enrique Luque Rico in thrilling three-set match, 6-7, 6-1, 7-5 to give ASU a 7-0 victory. Ponwith fell behind at multiple points during the match, but pulled through to secure the sweeping win for the Sun Devils.
"I thought he did a really nice job there at the end of the match of putting his foot back down on the guy, being aggressive and dictating what's happening," Hill said. "It's about being consistent and doing that more and more in each match he plays as we grow in the season."
The Sun Devils improved to 2-3 on the season and will travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday, February 8th. First serve is set for 4:00 p.m. MST and fans can keep up with the action by following @SunDevilMTennis on Twitter.
The Sun Devils and Waves faced off for the second-straight season, as ASU again swept last year's match 4-0. Similar to last season, ASU continued their dominant play against the Waves this time around in Tempe.
"We're always excited to play Pepperdine," coach Matt Hill said. "It was a great day for us, and it was good to see everybody kind of get into some tough situations because we want that. We want to see how they're handling that for when we're in the tougher matches.
ASU (2-3) continued their nearly perfect doubles play today, as the sophomore pair of Tim Ruehl and William Kirkman took their match over a duo from the Waves, 6-1, to put ASU at an advantage. On court one, the tandem of Nathan Ponwith and Dominik Kellovsky registered their second-straight win on the season, 6-3, to secure the doubles point for the Sun Devils. With that win, ASU has notched the first point in all five matches so far this year, a feat they didn't achieve until 12 matches into last season.
"It's not an easy point," Hill said. "It's one quick, short set, so you really have to be focused and take it one point at a time."
ASU took their hot start into singles play, as Makey Rakotomalala made quick work of his opponent in less than an hour, gliding past Scotland Garapedian of Pepperdine in straight-sets, 6-1, 6-0. The junior is undefeated this season in singles play, registering four wins so far.
To continue the Devil's winning ways, Kirkman defeated Felipe Galvao, 6-3, 6-1, to give the Sun Devils a 3-0 lead. The sophomore has proved to be spectacular in his second season, notching his second-straight victory.
The back three courts proved to come in clutch during the match as things continued to go the Devils' way. Justin Roberts followed suit shortly thereafter, registering his first singles win as a Sun Devil in straight-sets over Tim Zeitvoegl, 6-4, 6-2, to clinch the match, 4-0 for ASU. After Robert's match winning point, all matches were played out with ASU taking all six-singles matches.
"It was good to see Justin get one as well," Hill said. "He's been playing good tennis, he just hasn't been able to finish a match yet, so that was really good to see out of him."
Alongside his doubles win, Kellovsky earned the Sun Devils their fifth point of the day winning in straight-sets 6-4, 6-4 over No. 53 Adrian Oetzbach. The win represented the Czech Republic-native's first collegiate win, and also his first win over a ranked opponent.
"It was really good to see Dominik get off the court with a win," Hill said. "That guy, Adrian Oetzbach, is a really good player and had some good wins on the pro tour, so it was a good win for Dominik."
Ruehl notched his team-leading third victory of the season today, defeating his opponent 6-2, 7-6 (6) to leave it down to Ponwith on court two.
Ponwith ended the day with a win over Enrique Luque Rico in thrilling three-set match, 6-7, 6-1, 7-5 to give ASU a 7-0 victory. Ponwith fell behind at multiple points during the match, but pulled through to secure the sweeping win for the Sun Devils.
"I thought he did a really nice job there at the end of the match of putting his foot back down on the guy, being aggressive and dictating what's happening," Hill said. "It's about being consistent and doing that more and more in each match he plays as we grow in the season."
The Sun Devils improved to 2-3 on the season and will travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday, February 8th. First serve is set for 4:00 p.m. MST and fans can keep up with the action by following @SunDevilMTennis on Twitter.