BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Sun Devil men's tennis finished up its Midwest road trip on a high note, defeating the Indiana Hoosiers, 4-2, Sunday afternoon at the IU Tennis Center.
"The guys are really moving in the right direction," coach Matt Hill said. "It's clear to us as coaches how much they're progressing, and tonight was really good confirmation for the guys themselves as well."
The Sun Devils (3-4) got off to a quick start in doubles play, securing the first point to total six in their seven matches. The tandem of Makey Rakotomalala and Justin Roberts put ASU on the advantage, as the pair took a 6-4 victory in a little over 30 minutes.
Nathan Ponwith/Benjamin Hannestad followed suit on court two after a back-and-forth matchup with the duo from Indiana. The two were down 2-0 early on, but eventually battled to a 4-4 tie, using two straight game wins to secure the doubles point for the Sun Devils. No. 26 Andrea Bolla/Tim Ruehl were left unfinished on court three, also holding an advantage, 5-4.
"I was really, really pleased with the way we handled the doubles," Hill said. "We didn't start off well on almost all the courts, we started off a little slow. The resiliency of the guys, the way they stayed the course to make a couple adjustments to start playing better was impressive."
The win for Roberts/Rakotomalala is their fourth on the season, a team-best. Hannestad/Ponwith notched their first win as a pair this season, as the two debuted last time out at No. 2 Ohio State but were left unfinished, 5-5, when the Buckeyes took the first point.
ASU returned Tim Ruehl to the singles lineup after the German sat out against Ohio State. Ruehl pulled out to an early 2-0 first set lead. He transferred that lead into a 6-4 first-set win, and quickly secured a second set win, 6-4, to score a point for the Sun Devils in his fourth win of the season.
"We know what we're going to get with Tim because we know he's going to find a way to win, so we have all the trust in the world in that guy," Hill said. "He looked great in the doubles: He was taking over at the net, he was returning well, he was doing all of his normal stuff and he was really big for us tonight."
Andrea Bolla followed suit soon after, taking a 6-3 first-set win to head into set two with an advantage. Bolla turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 advantage, and eventually won two more games straight to go on a 4-1 run and take his match, 6-3, 6-3. His win over No. 111 Bennett Crane is his first win over a ranked opponent of his career, joining Roberts who downed No. 12 Kyle Seeling of Ohio State.
"Andrea Bolla beat a ranked opponent tonight who was one of IU's lock positions," Hill said. I couldn't't be more proud of him because he's been working hard with his game and it paid off big time for us tonight."
Leading 3-1 after the Hoosiers took a win on court five, it was up to Ponwith on court one, Roberts on court three and Rakotomalala on court six to take the victory for ASU.
Seemingly in a stalemate, No. 65 Ponwith dropped his first set, 6-2, but battled to a 6-6 tie in the second set. Ponwith and his opponent went back-and-forth in the tiebreaker to the tune of a 9-9 score near the end, but Ponwith fell to bring the score to 3-2.
Meanwhile on court six, Rakotomalala dropped his first set, 7-6, and found himself down 3-1 in set two. However, the junior battled back to a 4-4 tie and then a 6-6 tie. The Frenchman forced a match-deciding third set after taking the tiebreaker, 7-6.
"Makey played an incredibly impressive third set to just dismantle that guy," Hill said. "His opponent hasn't lost a match all season, and Indiana has played some really good teams. For Mack to take that guy 6-2 in the third was really good to see."
In a race to see who could clinch the match for the Sun Devils first, Rakotomalala worked a 5-2 lead in his third set while Roberts led 5-4. Ultimately, Rakotomalala pulled through, securing a comeback 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 win. Roberts was left unfinished at 7-5, 4-6, 5-4.
"Justin was obviously frustrated he didn't get to finish his match, but he played great tonight," Hill said. "He did a nice job with some small adjustments in the third set tactically and stayed the course by making smart serve choices to have his opponent guessing."
The Sun Devils have the week off and are back in action the weekend of Feb. 22. The squad travels to College Station for a match with Texas A&M on Friday and then jets back to Tempe for a home match against San Diego on Sunday. Fans can keep up with the action all season long by following @SunDevilMTennis on Twitter.
"The guys are really moving in the right direction," coach Matt Hill said. "It's clear to us as coaches how much they're progressing, and tonight was really good confirmation for the guys themselves as well."
The Sun Devils (3-4) got off to a quick start in doubles play, securing the first point to total six in their seven matches. The tandem of Makey Rakotomalala and Justin Roberts put ASU on the advantage, as the pair took a 6-4 victory in a little over 30 minutes.
Nathan Ponwith/Benjamin Hannestad followed suit on court two after a back-and-forth matchup with the duo from Indiana. The two were down 2-0 early on, but eventually battled to a 4-4 tie, using two straight game wins to secure the doubles point for the Sun Devils. No. 26 Andrea Bolla/Tim Ruehl were left unfinished on court three, also holding an advantage, 5-4.
"I was really, really pleased with the way we handled the doubles," Hill said. "We didn't start off well on almost all the courts, we started off a little slow. The resiliency of the guys, the way they stayed the course to make a couple adjustments to start playing better was impressive."
The win for Roberts/Rakotomalala is their fourth on the season, a team-best. Hannestad/Ponwith notched their first win as a pair this season, as the two debuted last time out at No. 2 Ohio State but were left unfinished, 5-5, when the Buckeyes took the first point.
ASU returned Tim Ruehl to the singles lineup after the German sat out against Ohio State. Ruehl pulled out to an early 2-0 first set lead. He transferred that lead into a 6-4 first-set win, and quickly secured a second set win, 6-4, to score a point for the Sun Devils in his fourth win of the season.
"We know what we're going to get with Tim because we know he's going to find a way to win, so we have all the trust in the world in that guy," Hill said. "He looked great in the doubles: He was taking over at the net, he was returning well, he was doing all of his normal stuff and he was really big for us tonight."
Andrea Bolla followed suit soon after, taking a 6-3 first-set win to head into set two with an advantage. Bolla turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 advantage, and eventually won two more games straight to go on a 4-1 run and take his match, 6-3, 6-3. His win over No. 111 Bennett Crane is his first win over a ranked opponent of his career, joining Roberts who downed No. 12 Kyle Seeling of Ohio State.
"Andrea Bolla beat a ranked opponent tonight who was one of IU's lock positions," Hill said. I couldn't't be more proud of him because he's been working hard with his game and it paid off big time for us tonight."
Leading 3-1 after the Hoosiers took a win on court five, it was up to Ponwith on court one, Roberts on court three and Rakotomalala on court six to take the victory for ASU.
Seemingly in a stalemate, No. 65 Ponwith dropped his first set, 6-2, but battled to a 6-6 tie in the second set. Ponwith and his opponent went back-and-forth in the tiebreaker to the tune of a 9-9 score near the end, but Ponwith fell to bring the score to 3-2.
Meanwhile on court six, Rakotomalala dropped his first set, 7-6, and found himself down 3-1 in set two. However, the junior battled back to a 4-4 tie and then a 6-6 tie. The Frenchman forced a match-deciding third set after taking the tiebreaker, 7-6.
"Makey played an incredibly impressive third set to just dismantle that guy," Hill said. "His opponent hasn't lost a match all season, and Indiana has played some really good teams. For Mack to take that guy 6-2 in the third was really good to see."
In a race to see who could clinch the match for the Sun Devils first, Rakotomalala worked a 5-2 lead in his third set while Roberts led 5-4. Ultimately, Rakotomalala pulled through, securing a comeback 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 win. Roberts was left unfinished at 7-5, 4-6, 5-4.
"Justin was obviously frustrated he didn't get to finish his match, but he played great tonight," Hill said. "He did a nice job with some small adjustments in the third set tactically and stayed the course by making smart serve choices to have his opponent guessing."
The Sun Devils have the week off and are back in action the weekend of Feb. 22. The squad travels to College Station for a match with Texas A&M on Friday and then jets back to Tempe for a home match against San Diego on Sunday. Fans can keep up with the action all season long by following @SunDevilMTennis on Twitter.