TEMPE, Ariz. – Sun Devil men's tennis kicked off their home stand with an exclamation point, taking a 7-0 sweep of Delaware in less than two hours on Tuesday morning.
"We've been moving in a good direction and things are really coming together for the guys individually, as a group and even off the court," coach Matt Hill said. "There are a lot of positives that we're seeing on and off the court from our guys."
ASU played strong tennis from the beginning, with all three doubles tandems jumping out to big leads early. With all three at 5-2 late, it was just a matter of who could win first for the Sun Devils.
The pair of Andrea Bolla/Tim Ruehl took a 6-2 victory first and Justin Roberts/Benjamin Hannestad finished soon after by the same final. The clinch is the 13th first point of the season through the first 19 matches, already outnumbering their 2018 total with six more regular season matches currently scheduled.
Singles play was another quick affair for ASU today with the Sun Devils returning several players formerly dealing with injury. Thomas Wright played an exhibition match, taking a victory in his first action since November 2018.
Benjamin Hannestad also took a straight-sets 6-1, 6-1 victory in his second straight appearance for ASU. The Dane played a strong match from the beginning after battling an injury earlier in the season.
"Having Ben back in the lineup is huge because he's an incredible player," Hill said. "When he was banged up, he wasn't even getting reps in training, so he wasn't able to move forward and it was frustrating for him and us. We're super happy to have him healthy and playing full matches."
All six singles matches played ended in straight sets, with Andrea Bolla finishing up first to put ASU up 2-0. Hannestad and Makey Rakotomalala finished up soon afterward, with the Frenchman taking a 6-1, 6-2 win on court six.
Although Rakotomalala's match clinched the Sun Devil victory at 4-0, both schools decided to play out the remaining matches. The clinch-play allowed Kellovsky (6-2, 6-1), Ruehl (6-2, 6-1) and Ponwith (6-3, 6-3) the chance to all record singles wins.
"Aside from winning 7-0, the score lines on the individual matches were amazing too because we didn't drop too many games and that's not an easy thing to do," Hill said. "Every time you step into a new game you have to stay focused, composed and continue to make good decisions."
The Sun Devils are back in action Friday to continue conference play against Washington. First serve is set for 5 p.m. MST, and fans can keep up with the action all season long by following @SunDevilMTennis.
"We've been moving in a good direction and things are really coming together for the guys individually, as a group and even off the court," coach Matt Hill said. "There are a lot of positives that we're seeing on and off the court from our guys."
ASU played strong tennis from the beginning, with all three doubles tandems jumping out to big leads early. With all three at 5-2 late, it was just a matter of who could win first for the Sun Devils.
The pair of Andrea Bolla/Tim Ruehl took a 6-2 victory first and Justin Roberts/Benjamin Hannestad finished soon after by the same final. The clinch is the 13th first point of the season through the first 19 matches, already outnumbering their 2018 total with six more regular season matches currently scheduled.
Singles play was another quick affair for ASU today with the Sun Devils returning several players formerly dealing with injury. Thomas Wright played an exhibition match, taking a victory in his first action since November 2018.
Benjamin Hannestad also took a straight-sets 6-1, 6-1 victory in his second straight appearance for ASU. The Dane played a strong match from the beginning after battling an injury earlier in the season.
"Having Ben back in the lineup is huge because he's an incredible player," Hill said. "When he was banged up, he wasn't even getting reps in training, so he wasn't able to move forward and it was frustrating for him and us. We're super happy to have him healthy and playing full matches."
All six singles matches played ended in straight sets, with Andrea Bolla finishing up first to put ASU up 2-0. Hannestad and Makey Rakotomalala finished up soon afterward, with the Frenchman taking a 6-1, 6-2 win on court six.
Although Rakotomalala's match clinched the Sun Devil victory at 4-0, both schools decided to play out the remaining matches. The clinch-play allowed Kellovsky (6-2, 6-1), Ruehl (6-2, 6-1) and Ponwith (6-3, 6-3) the chance to all record singles wins.
"Aside from winning 7-0, the score lines on the individual matches were amazing too because we didn't drop too many games and that's not an easy thing to do," Hill said. "Every time you step into a new game you have to stay focused, composed and continue to make good decisions."
The Sun Devils are back in action Friday to continue conference play against Washington. First serve is set for 5 p.m. MST, and fans can keep up with the action all season long by following @SunDevilMTennis.