TEMPE, Ariz. – Head Sun Devil men's tennis coach Matt Hill reached a milestone today, notching his 100th career win as ASU defeated the No. 41 University of San Diego, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon at the Whiteman Tennis Center. The feat came in front of a record 917 fans packing the venue.
"Today was big for us, it was a turning point for us," Hill said. "Credit to my guys for working crazy hard, trusting us, each other and themselves because San Diego had won four-straight coming into this match, so we knew it was going to be tough."
Hill's achievement spans his time at the helm of both the Sun Devils and as the head coach at the University of South Florida. The Michigan-native spent five seasons in Tampa before he was entrusted to take the helm of the men's squad in 2017.
"It's fun to think back on all the different teams and universities I've coached at," Hill said. "There are a million people involved with it because I've worked with so many incredible coaches and coached so many incredible players. I'm a small piece of that puzzle."
The Sun Devils kicked off the match against the Toreros in high-stakes fashion, as both doubles competitions on two and three went into tiebreakers after tying at six late.
No. 51 Dominik Kellovsky/Nathan Ponwith put ASU on the advantage first, taking an electrifying 7-5 win in front of a huge crowd in attendance to watch the ASU victory.
Makey Rakotomalala/Justin Roberts finished on court two soon after, taking a 7-6 win for their sixth victory of the season and fifth in their last six matches. The clinch left No. 22 Tim Ruehl/Andrea Bolla unfinished at 6-6.
"We have to make sure we're staying sharp with our doubles because it wasn't as sharp as it was earlier in the year," Hill said. "In the big moments, I thought our guys played really well and I thought they carried that into singles."
ASU sent their usual lineup to the courts for singles play, taking a 2-1 lead on every single court right at the start. The squad slowed down from there on out, as the Toreros took two singles wins on courts one and five to take a 2-1 overall lead.
Benjamin Hannestad came through for ASU first, taking his first set 6-3 and then dropping his second set by the same score. He took a 2-0 lead in set number three and never looked back, taking his final set 6-4 to knot the match up at two.
The Toreros responded with another win on court four and the Sun Devils found themselves with their backs against the wall, down 3-2 with San Diego one point away from clinching the win.
"When I saw situations where we were really behind in the count in the game score, we still found a way to scratch to get those games," Hill said. "That's tough to coach. That's something players either have or they don't, and these guys have it."
On court two, Ponwith staged a comeback win over No. 57 Gui Osorio, dropping his first set 7-6 and then battling back to take set two, 6-3. Ponwith stormed to a quick third set win, 6-2, to set the stage for Bolla's gritty win on five to clinch the match. The ranked win is the second on the weekend for Ponwith as he defeated No. 47 Valentin Vacherot of Texas A&M on Friday night.
Bolla raced to an easy 6-4 win in his first set after never playing from a deficit. However, his opponent retaliated by taking the second set, 6-4, to force a match-deciding third set. With all eyes on court three, Bolla and Nico Borter battled back and forth to a 5-5 tie. The Italian kicked things into overdrive, winning two straight games to clinch Hill's 100th career win. Hill again praised Bolla for his play tonight.
"Andrea's level tonight skyrocketed when the chips were on the table," Hill said. "These guys like being in big situations, they like being against the wall, they like pressure and when you feel like that as a coach, you know you've got something really good."
The Sun Devils have a bye week and are back in action in the Bay Area on March 8 and 9. Fans can keep up with the action all season long by following @SunDevilMTennis on Twitter.
"Today was big for us, it was a turning point for us," Hill said. "Credit to my guys for working crazy hard, trusting us, each other and themselves because San Diego had won four-straight coming into this match, so we knew it was going to be tough."
Hill's achievement spans his time at the helm of both the Sun Devils and as the head coach at the University of South Florida. The Michigan-native spent five seasons in Tampa before he was entrusted to take the helm of the men's squad in 2017.
"It's fun to think back on all the different teams and universities I've coached at," Hill said. "There are a million people involved with it because I've worked with so many incredible coaches and coached so many incredible players. I'm a small piece of that puzzle."
The Sun Devils kicked off the match against the Toreros in high-stakes fashion, as both doubles competitions on two and three went into tiebreakers after tying at six late.
No. 51 Dominik Kellovsky/Nathan Ponwith put ASU on the advantage first, taking an electrifying 7-5 win in front of a huge crowd in attendance to watch the ASU victory.
Makey Rakotomalala/Justin Roberts finished on court two soon after, taking a 7-6 win for their sixth victory of the season and fifth in their last six matches. The clinch left No. 22 Tim Ruehl/Andrea Bolla unfinished at 6-6.
"We have to make sure we're staying sharp with our doubles because it wasn't as sharp as it was earlier in the year," Hill said. "In the big moments, I thought our guys played really well and I thought they carried that into singles."
ASU sent their usual lineup to the courts for singles play, taking a 2-1 lead on every single court right at the start. The squad slowed down from there on out, as the Toreros took two singles wins on courts one and five to take a 2-1 overall lead.
Benjamin Hannestad came through for ASU first, taking his first set 6-3 and then dropping his second set by the same score. He took a 2-0 lead in set number three and never looked back, taking his final set 6-4 to knot the match up at two.
The Toreros responded with another win on court four and the Sun Devils found themselves with their backs against the wall, down 3-2 with San Diego one point away from clinching the win.
"When I saw situations where we were really behind in the count in the game score, we still found a way to scratch to get those games," Hill said. "That's tough to coach. That's something players either have or they don't, and these guys have it."
On court two, Ponwith staged a comeback win over No. 57 Gui Osorio, dropping his first set 7-6 and then battling back to take set two, 6-3. Ponwith stormed to a quick third set win, 6-2, to set the stage for Bolla's gritty win on five to clinch the match. The ranked win is the second on the weekend for Ponwith as he defeated No. 47 Valentin Vacherot of Texas A&M on Friday night.
Bolla raced to an easy 6-4 win in his first set after never playing from a deficit. However, his opponent retaliated by taking the second set, 6-4, to force a match-deciding third set. With all eyes on court three, Bolla and Nico Borter battled back and forth to a 5-5 tie. The Italian kicked things into overdrive, winning two straight games to clinch Hill's 100th career win. Hill again praised Bolla for his play tonight.
"Andrea's level tonight skyrocketed when the chips were on the table," Hill said. "These guys like being in big situations, they like being against the wall, they like pressure and when you feel like that as a coach, you know you've got something really good."
The Sun Devils have a bye week and are back in action in the Bay Area on March 8 and 9. Fans can keep up with the action all season long by following @SunDevilMTennis on Twitter.