TEMPE, Ariz. – Sun Devil men's tennis returned home for a quick win today, defeating Northern Arizona, 6-1, on Saturday afternoon at the Whiteman Tennis Center. The win is the largest margin of victory for the Sun Devils since blanking Delaware 7-0 last April.
"I'm happy with what we're seeing from the young guys in the five matches we've played," head coach Matt Hill said. "Obviously we'd like to get healthy, but we're moving in that direction and it's just a matter of time there."
Bouncing back after two tough losses to top-20 teams last time out, the Sun Devils quickly secured the doubles point over the Lumberjacks in less than an hour. No. 27 Andrea Bolla/Tim Ruehl stepped up to the plate first, registering a 6-0 win on court one. William Kirkman/Tom LeBlanc followed in their first game as a pair, taking a 6-0 win to clinch the first point. The last court played their game out, with the Devils duo of Christian Lerby/George Stoupe taking their third win as a pair with a 6-3 victory on court two.
Entering into singles with a 1-0 lead, Lerby put up an extremely quick 6-1, 6-1 singles victory in under an hour on court three to extend the Sun Devils' lead to 2-0. Bolla followed in his first-ever competition as ASU's court one, taking his own 6-1, 6-3 win just two minutes later.
"We know Christian is one of the better players in college tennis who has huge upside," Hill said. "He's a guy who will carry this program forward long term, not just short term."
One point away from clinching their second victory of the season, the Sun Devils had four more courts left in play meaning four more chances to take the victory. Ruehl clinched the match-winning point, defeating his opponent in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4 for the sweeping victory. The Lumberjacks and Sun Devils decided to play the remaining three courts out, leaving Stoupe, LeBlanc and Kirkman to duke it out with their opponents.
LeBlanc dominated his opponent from the beginning, taking his first set relatively easy at 6-4. Taking advantage of a couple key errors from his opponent late, he sat at 5-2 in his second set down 30-40 in the game. His opponent hit a return into the net to make it deuce, and the Frenchman softly tapped the ball just out of reach of his opponent to seal his first collegiate victory and 5-0 Sun Devil lead.
"His win is huge for his confidence because his game is an offensive type of game and it's based on no fear, which he has, and trust," Hill said. "It's not easy to switch from the junior or pro circuit to college, and for him to get that one monkey off his back is a big step for us."
Stoupe went toe-to-toe with his opponent on court four, with the freshman eventually outlasting the Lumberjack. After a 6-4 first set in favor of the Sun Devil, Stoupe found himself down 1-3 early on in set two. He switched gears to make it a 4-5 deficit, and then won three-straight games to win 6-4, 7-5 to leave it down to Kirkman on six.
Kirkman launched a battle with his opponent on court six, dropping his first set 3-6 but battling back to take his second, 6-2. The Dominican found himself tied at 3-all and then 4-all late in his match-deciding third set, ultimately dropping the match in an ultra competitive tiebreaker 3-6, 6-2, 6-7 (9) to finish out the 6-1 win for ASU.
"Will did a nice job in his last match against Oklahoma State and this one today of putting himself in position to win," Hill said. "For a guy who's been out for as long as he has, that's a win for us because he's giving the team a chance and making good decisions out there."
The Sun Devils hit the road again to Ohio and Michigan for matches against No. 6 Ohio State and Michigan state next Friday and Sunday, respectively. Fans can keep up with the action all season long by following @SunDevilMTennis on Twitter.
"I'm happy with what we're seeing from the young guys in the five matches we've played," head coach Matt Hill said. "Obviously we'd like to get healthy, but we're moving in that direction and it's just a matter of time there."
Bouncing back after two tough losses to top-20 teams last time out, the Sun Devils quickly secured the doubles point over the Lumberjacks in less than an hour. No. 27 Andrea Bolla/Tim Ruehl stepped up to the plate first, registering a 6-0 win on court one. William Kirkman/Tom LeBlanc followed in their first game as a pair, taking a 6-0 win to clinch the first point. The last court played their game out, with the Devils duo of Christian Lerby/George Stoupe taking their third win as a pair with a 6-3 victory on court two.
Entering into singles with a 1-0 lead, Lerby put up an extremely quick 6-1, 6-1 singles victory in under an hour on court three to extend the Sun Devils' lead to 2-0. Bolla followed in his first-ever competition as ASU's court one, taking his own 6-1, 6-3 win just two minutes later.
"We know Christian is one of the better players in college tennis who has huge upside," Hill said. "He's a guy who will carry this program forward long term, not just short term."
One point away from clinching their second victory of the season, the Sun Devils had four more courts left in play meaning four more chances to take the victory. Ruehl clinched the match-winning point, defeating his opponent in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4 for the sweeping victory. The Lumberjacks and Sun Devils decided to play the remaining three courts out, leaving Stoupe, LeBlanc and Kirkman to duke it out with their opponents.
LeBlanc dominated his opponent from the beginning, taking his first set relatively easy at 6-4. Taking advantage of a couple key errors from his opponent late, he sat at 5-2 in his second set down 30-40 in the game. His opponent hit a return into the net to make it deuce, and the Frenchman softly tapped the ball just out of reach of his opponent to seal his first collegiate victory and 5-0 Sun Devil lead.
"His win is huge for his confidence because his game is an offensive type of game and it's based on no fear, which he has, and trust," Hill said. "It's not easy to switch from the junior or pro circuit to college, and for him to get that one monkey off his back is a big step for us."
Stoupe went toe-to-toe with his opponent on court four, with the freshman eventually outlasting the Lumberjack. After a 6-4 first set in favor of the Sun Devil, Stoupe found himself down 1-3 early on in set two. He switched gears to make it a 4-5 deficit, and then won three-straight games to win 6-4, 7-5 to leave it down to Kirkman on six.
Kirkman launched a battle with his opponent on court six, dropping his first set 3-6 but battling back to take his second, 6-2. The Dominican found himself tied at 3-all and then 4-all late in his match-deciding third set, ultimately dropping the match in an ultra competitive tiebreaker 3-6, 6-2, 6-7 (9) to finish out the 6-1 win for ASU.
"Will did a nice job in his last match against Oklahoma State and this one today of putting himself in position to win," Hill said. "For a guy who's been out for as long as he has, that's a win for us because he's giving the team a chance and making good decisions out there."
The Sun Devils hit the road again to Ohio and Michigan for matches against No. 6 Ohio State and Michigan state next Friday and Sunday, respectively. Fans can keep up with the action all season long by following @SunDevilMTennis on Twitter.