COLUMBUS/BLOOMINGTON – Sun Devil men's tennis is back out on the road this weekend, jetting to the Midwest to take on No. 2 Ohio State and Indiana in a Friday/Sunday matchup.
The trip comes one weekend after the Sun Devil squad played their first home match where they blanked the Pepperdine Waves in a 7-0 sweep on Saturday afternoon. With the win, ASU secured back-to-back 7-0 wins for the first time since February 2008 when the squad picked up sweeping wins over San Diego State and Southern Mississippi.
ASU did not pick up a win by that margin last season, displaying the improvement in just one season under coach Matt Hill.
"It was a really good win for us, because regardless of your opponent it's never easy to win 7-0 let alone a team with a guy who's top-55 in the country, another who was a top juniors player and top-500 ATP," Hill said. "For everybody to get off the court and do their job, it's always a good feeling."
Junior Dominik Kellovsky highlighted the Sun Devils in the victory over the Waves, picking up his first collegiate win and first win over a ranked opponent. Kellovsky defeated No. 53 Adrian Oeztbach in straight sets, 6-4 6-4, to achieve that feat.
All three fresh-faced players notched their first victories as Sun Devils in the matchup, with both Nathan Ponwith and Justin Roberts contributing points in the win.
"We know those three guys can play at the highest level," Hill said. "I think you're going to see really big things from those three guys not only in February, but the further along we get into the season. They're going to continue to be huge performers for us."
The Buckeyes and Sun Devils are familiar foes, as the two programs faced off last season at the Griffin Club in Los Angeles for a midweek matchup. The match fell in favor of OSU 4-2, but No. 61 Michael Geerts made waves when he took down then-No. 2 ranked Mikael Torpegaard. Tim Ruehl also notched a win in the competition, taking down Tim Seibert in straight-sets, 7-5, 6-0.
"These guys love the bigger matches, they like playing the better matches and bigger teams," Hill said. "They really get up for that and elevate their game, so I'm excited to see what they bring to the table on Friday."
Sunday's battle between the Hoosiers and Sun Devils is the first in program history. The Hoosiers currently sit at 4-2 with wins over Ball State, Toledo, Ole Miss and Middle Tennessee. The squad has already faced off against a Pac-12 opponent this season, as Indiana travelled to Los Angeles to take on UCLA, a match in which they dropped 4-1 to the Bruins.
Last season, the Hooisers notched a 15-12 overall record and went 7-4 in Big Ten play. Indiana made it to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament before being ousted by Minnesota, 4-1, and did not make it to the NCAA Tournament as a team nor did they send an individual or tandem.
One Sun Devil individual and two doubles tandems also found their way into the newest round of the Oracle/ITA Division I Men's Tennis Rankings, with No. 65 Ponwith, No. 26 Ruehl-Andrea Bolla and No. 36 Ponwith-Kellovsky on the list. The accolade is the first this season for the pair of Ponwith-Kellovsky, while Bolla-Ruehl were ranked Nov. 14 poll and Ponwith held a No. 49 ranking in the preseason poll.
Friday's matchup between the Sun Devils and Buckeyes is set for a 4 p.m. MST first serve, while Sunday's matchup will begin at noon MST. Fans can keep up the action by following @SunDevilMTennis on Twitter.
The trip comes one weekend after the Sun Devil squad played their first home match where they blanked the Pepperdine Waves in a 7-0 sweep on Saturday afternoon. With the win, ASU secured back-to-back 7-0 wins for the first time since February 2008 when the squad picked up sweeping wins over San Diego State and Southern Mississippi.
ASU did not pick up a win by that margin last season, displaying the improvement in just one season under coach Matt Hill.
"It was a really good win for us, because regardless of your opponent it's never easy to win 7-0 let alone a team with a guy who's top-55 in the country, another who was a top juniors player and top-500 ATP," Hill said. "For everybody to get off the court and do their job, it's always a good feeling."
Junior Dominik Kellovsky highlighted the Sun Devils in the victory over the Waves, picking up his first collegiate win and first win over a ranked opponent. Kellovsky defeated No. 53 Adrian Oeztbach in straight sets, 6-4 6-4, to achieve that feat.
All three fresh-faced players notched their first victories as Sun Devils in the matchup, with both Nathan Ponwith and Justin Roberts contributing points in the win.
"We know those three guys can play at the highest level," Hill said. "I think you're going to see really big things from those three guys not only in February, but the further along we get into the season. They're going to continue to be huge performers for us."
The Buckeyes and Sun Devils are familiar foes, as the two programs faced off last season at the Griffin Club in Los Angeles for a midweek matchup. The match fell in favor of OSU 4-2, but No. 61 Michael Geerts made waves when he took down then-No. 2 ranked Mikael Torpegaard. Tim Ruehl also notched a win in the competition, taking down Tim Seibert in straight-sets, 7-5, 6-0.
"These guys love the bigger matches, they like playing the better matches and bigger teams," Hill said. "They really get up for that and elevate their game, so I'm excited to see what they bring to the table on Friday."
Sunday's battle between the Hoosiers and Sun Devils is the first in program history. The Hoosiers currently sit at 4-2 with wins over Ball State, Toledo, Ole Miss and Middle Tennessee. The squad has already faced off against a Pac-12 opponent this season, as Indiana travelled to Los Angeles to take on UCLA, a match in which they dropped 4-1 to the Bruins.
Last season, the Hooisers notched a 15-12 overall record and went 7-4 in Big Ten play. Indiana made it to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament before being ousted by Minnesota, 4-1, and did not make it to the NCAA Tournament as a team nor did they send an individual or tandem.
One Sun Devil individual and two doubles tandems also found their way into the newest round of the Oracle/ITA Division I Men's Tennis Rankings, with No. 65 Ponwith, No. 26 Ruehl-Andrea Bolla and No. 36 Ponwith-Kellovsky on the list. The accolade is the first this season for the pair of Ponwith-Kellovsky, while Bolla-Ruehl were ranked Nov. 14 poll and Ponwith held a No. 49 ranking in the preseason poll.
Friday's matchup between the Sun Devils and Buckeyes is set for a 4 p.m. MST first serve, while Sunday's matchup will begin at noon MST. Fans can keep up the action by following @SunDevilMTennis on Twitter.