INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Sun Devil men's tennis registered their first win over a top-25 program since its revival in 2018, as ASU upset No. 13 Michigan in comeback fashion. No. 74 Nathan Ponwith upset No. 37 Mattias Siimar to clinch the match for the Sun Devils.
"The guys managed the situation really well because there were a ton of swings and tough moments that didn't go our way," head coach Matt Hill said. "They stayed the course, kept fighting and put themselves in a position to win. That's all we can really ask for, and they did a fantastic job of that today."
"This team has been through a lot in a short span all the way back to the fall," Hill said. "They've gone through a lot of adversity and I'm really happy they got on the other side of it because there are a lot of teams that never get on the other side of it. They're working through it and we're not there yet, but we're definitely on the right path after today."
ASU fell behind early after ceding the doubles point off loses on courts two and three. Every single match went into extra points, but the Wolverines took a 1-0 leading heading into singles play.
Sending the usual six to the courts, ASU fell behind 2-0 when Michigan took another victory on court three, 6-4, 6-2.
"In tennis, each guy is in his own battle," Hill said. "We've been in this position a couple times where the scoreboard says we're way up, but in the individual matches being played, they're in their own momentum swings."
Two points is all the Wolverines would manage, as the Sun Devils quickly began to put the puzzle pieces together.
With the remaining five matches into second sets, Justin Roberts registered a win first to the tune of a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) victory.
Tim Ruehl followed soon after with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win to tie things up at two a piece and Dominik Kellovsky followed just minutes later to put ASU up 3-2 with a win on court two.
"Dominik did a fantastic job of closing out that first set breaker," Hill said. "He was in great position to win that second set, didn't get it, but was really poised and composed there at the end to finish that out."
Ponwith and Makey Rakotomalala remained in play with ASU needing just one more point to record the upset victory. The Scottsdale-native Ponwith came in clutch for the Sun Devils, upsetting No. 37 Siimar to clinch the 4-2 Sun Devil victory.
"Nathan did a fantastic job after he lost that first set breaker," Hill said. "He regrouped mentally, played really great tennis and never looked back."
The clinch left Rakotomalala unfinished on court six, who in his own played a highly competitive match. The Frenchman dropped his first set 6-3 and went down 4-0 in his second set but forced his way to a 7-5 second set win. He again fell behind in his third set 5-2, but took three-straight games to stay alive. Rakotomalala was left unfinished at 3-6, 7-5, 5-5.
"Unbelievable effort from Mak today because he was way down," Hill said. "It's so easy to throw in the towel down 4-0 and he didn't. That changed the feel of the match: him fighting, competing and being loud the way that he is was really the difference-maker on court six."
With the win, the Sun Devils move onto the semifinal round of the 2019 Oracle Collegiate Challenge. ASU is back in action tomorrow at 11 a.m. and will face No. 16 USC.
Fans can keep up with the action all weekend-long by following @SunDevilMTennis on Twitter.
"The guys managed the situation really well because there were a ton of swings and tough moments that didn't go our way," head coach Matt Hill said. "They stayed the course, kept fighting and put themselves in a position to win. That's all we can really ask for, and they did a fantastic job of that today."
"This team has been through a lot in a short span all the way back to the fall," Hill said. "They've gone through a lot of adversity and I'm really happy they got on the other side of it because there are a lot of teams that never get on the other side of it. They're working through it and we're not there yet, but we're definitely on the right path after today."
ASU fell behind early after ceding the doubles point off loses on courts two and three. Every single match went into extra points, but the Wolverines took a 1-0 leading heading into singles play.
Sending the usual six to the courts, ASU fell behind 2-0 when Michigan took another victory on court three, 6-4, 6-2.
"In tennis, each guy is in his own battle," Hill said. "We've been in this position a couple times where the scoreboard says we're way up, but in the individual matches being played, they're in their own momentum swings."
Two points is all the Wolverines would manage, as the Sun Devils quickly began to put the puzzle pieces together.
With the remaining five matches into second sets, Justin Roberts registered a win first to the tune of a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) victory.
Tim Ruehl followed soon after with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win to tie things up at two a piece and Dominik Kellovsky followed just minutes later to put ASU up 3-2 with a win on court two.
"Dominik did a fantastic job of closing out that first set breaker," Hill said. "He was in great position to win that second set, didn't get it, but was really poised and composed there at the end to finish that out."
Ponwith and Makey Rakotomalala remained in play with ASU needing just one more point to record the upset victory. The Scottsdale-native Ponwith came in clutch for the Sun Devils, upsetting No. 37 Siimar to clinch the 4-2 Sun Devil victory.
"Nathan did a fantastic job after he lost that first set breaker," Hill said. "He regrouped mentally, played really great tennis and never looked back."
The clinch left Rakotomalala unfinished on court six, who in his own played a highly competitive match. The Frenchman dropped his first set 6-3 and went down 4-0 in his second set but forced his way to a 7-5 second set win. He again fell behind in his third set 5-2, but took three-straight games to stay alive. Rakotomalala was left unfinished at 3-6, 7-5, 5-5.
"Unbelievable effort from Mak today because he was way down," Hill said. "It's so easy to throw in the towel down 4-0 and he didn't. That changed the feel of the match: him fighting, competing and being loud the way that he is was really the difference-maker on court six."
With the win, the Sun Devils move onto the semifinal round of the 2019 Oracle Collegiate Challenge. ASU is back in action tomorrow at 11 a.m. and will face No. 16 USC.
Fans can keep up with the action all weekend-long by following @SunDevilMTennis on Twitter.