TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State men's tennis continued their winning ways, sweeping the No. 42 Oregon Ducks 4-0 on Friday evening at the Whiteman Tennis Center. The win is ASU's fifth in their last seven matchups and their fifth win over a ranked opponent of the season.
"We've been seeing a lot of really good things on the practice court and things really transferred today," coach Matt Hill said. "Oregon is a really good team because this was only their fourth loss of the season and they've been ranked as high as the top 15."
The Sun Devils (10-10) got off to a hot start and never looked back, securing their 14th doubles point of the season off wins on courts one and three. Justin Roberts/Benajmin Hannestad finished up first with a quick 6-1 victory in less than 30 minutes.
"We were really happy with how three doubles played because they're a new pair for us," Hill said. "We have a lot of a trust in both players as individual doubles players, so it was great to see them succeed tonight."
With the advantage, No. 9 Nathan Ponwith/Dominik Kellovsky came up big the clinch the first point for ASU. Tied at 2-all early, the pair jumped out to a 5-2 lead and converted that into a 6-3 victory for their fourth win in their last six decisions.
"It's always good to see one doubles taking care of business because it's been par for the course for them lately," Hill said.
Once again holding a 1-0 lead heading into singles play, all six players wasted no time jumping out to early leads as ASU won their first sets on five of six courts including two at 6-0. Hannestad was one of the players to notch a bagel in his first set, and he converted that momentum into a 6-2 second set win to take the victory.
"It's great to have Ben back from injury because he played two for us last year and was winning all the time," Hill said. "To have him out at the beginning of the year was difficult and to have him back healthy and trending in the right direction is huge for us."
Sophomore Ruehl finished up soon after to the tune of a 6-0, 6-3 win to put the Sun Devils just one point away from clinching their fifth sweeping win of the season.
The point was up to any of the four Sun Devils still in action, as all four were in good shape to be able to register a victory. Roberts battled to a 7-6 first set win and then sat tied at 3-all in set two, but went unfinished at deuce when the match was clinched.
"Him walking over to cheer Nathan on during his own changeover is a testament to his leadership," Hill said. "That right there is just a small piece of what he's doing for this team that no one sees, and it's huge for the long-term internal culture of the team. You can't put a price on that."
Kellovsky also played a tough match on court two, going down 5-0 early in his first set and dropped it 6-3. He clawed his way to a 6-4 second set win to force a split, but too went unfinished with the Sun Devil win.
"He's been in a good place mentally for these past two weeks," Hill said. "He's been trying to elevate his level to put it out there time and time again."
The hometown kid Ponwith moved to a quick 6-3 win in his first set and carried that momentum to go up 4-2 in his second set. His opponent went on a 3-1 run to make things interesting late, sitting tied at 5-all. Ponwith kicked things into overdrive for the win, taking his match 6-3, 7-5 to secure his third-straight win.
"Nathan did a great job tonight because it was one of those matches where the finish lines seems a mile away, and those matches suck," Hill said. "He did a really good job mentally because he was getting frustrated, but he calmed himself down and stayed composed."
The Sun Devils are back in action for a double-header at home. First serve with the Washington Huskies is set for noon MST while GCU vs. ASU will start at 6 p.m. Fans can keep up with the action all season-long by following @SunDevilMTennis on Twitter.
"We've been seeing a lot of really good things on the practice court and things really transferred today," coach Matt Hill said. "Oregon is a really good team because this was only their fourth loss of the season and they've been ranked as high as the top 15."
The Sun Devils (10-10) got off to a hot start and never looked back, securing their 14th doubles point of the season off wins on courts one and three. Justin Roberts/Benajmin Hannestad finished up first with a quick 6-1 victory in less than 30 minutes.
"We were really happy with how three doubles played because they're a new pair for us," Hill said. "We have a lot of a trust in both players as individual doubles players, so it was great to see them succeed tonight."
With the advantage, No. 9 Nathan Ponwith/Dominik Kellovsky came up big the clinch the first point for ASU. Tied at 2-all early, the pair jumped out to a 5-2 lead and converted that into a 6-3 victory for their fourth win in their last six decisions.
"It's always good to see one doubles taking care of business because it's been par for the course for them lately," Hill said.
Once again holding a 1-0 lead heading into singles play, all six players wasted no time jumping out to early leads as ASU won their first sets on five of six courts including two at 6-0. Hannestad was one of the players to notch a bagel in his first set, and he converted that momentum into a 6-2 second set win to take the victory.
"It's great to have Ben back from injury because he played two for us last year and was winning all the time," Hill said. "To have him out at the beginning of the year was difficult and to have him back healthy and trending in the right direction is huge for us."
Sophomore Ruehl finished up soon after to the tune of a 6-0, 6-3 win to put the Sun Devils just one point away from clinching their fifth sweeping win of the season.
The point was up to any of the four Sun Devils still in action, as all four were in good shape to be able to register a victory. Roberts battled to a 7-6 first set win and then sat tied at 3-all in set two, but went unfinished at deuce when the match was clinched.
"Him walking over to cheer Nathan on during his own changeover is a testament to his leadership," Hill said. "That right there is just a small piece of what he's doing for this team that no one sees, and it's huge for the long-term internal culture of the team. You can't put a price on that."
Kellovsky also played a tough match on court two, going down 5-0 early in his first set and dropped it 6-3. He clawed his way to a 6-4 second set win to force a split, but too went unfinished with the Sun Devil win.
"He's been in a good place mentally for these past two weeks," Hill said. "He's been trying to elevate his level to put it out there time and time again."
The hometown kid Ponwith moved to a quick 6-3 win in his first set and carried that momentum to go up 4-2 in his second set. His opponent went on a 3-1 run to make things interesting late, sitting tied at 5-all. Ponwith kicked things into overdrive for the win, taking his match 6-3, 7-5 to secure his third-straight win.
"Nathan did a great job tonight because it was one of those matches where the finish lines seems a mile away, and those matches suck," Hill said. "He did a really good job mentally because he was getting frustrated, but he calmed himself down and stayed composed."
The Sun Devils are back in action for a double-header at home. First serve with the Washington Huskies is set for noon MST while GCU vs. ASU will start at 6 p.m. Fans can keep up with the action all season-long by following @SunDevilMTennis on Twitter.