TEMPE, Ariz. – Sun Devil men's tennis battled toe-to-toe with No. 14 Wake Forest Sunday afternoon, forcing doubles down to a tiebreak on court two before the Demon Deacons went on to take three of the four finished singles matches for the 4-1 victory.
All three doubles pairings for the Sun Devils (4-7) were playing together for the first time this season, and nearly started with the 1-0 lead.
"I thought it was much better today. Wake Forest, in my opinion, is a better team than Baylor and I thought we were more competitive today than yesterday, and we have two of our top three players are out," said head coach Matt Hill. "I was impressed with the doubles – all the pairings were brand new – and they put themselves in a position to win the point."
After Tim Ruehl and Will Kirkman took court three, 6-3, George Stoupe and Tom LeBlanc forced a tiebreak against Taha Baadi and Melios Efstathiou on court two. Baadi made a big backhand return and ended up taking the tiebreak, 7-5.
"That's a big point for us when we're playing with a thin singles lineup. Credit our guys for not allowing it to affect their belief in winning the match still," said Hill. "I felt like they still went out and felt they could put four points on the board."
On court two, playing on that court for the first time, Christian Lerby fought to a 7-5, 6-2 win over Henri Squire, who was 8-5 so far this season.
After taking courts five and four, the focus turned to court one o fNo. 38 Bar Botzer and Sun Devil Nathan Ponwith, who just returned to the ASU lineup this weekend. Botzer took set one, 6-2, but Ponwith battled back to keep it close before Botzer finished the second set 6-4.
"Nate is just getting back – it's his second match back – and we're happy to have him back out there," said Hill. "He's progressed a lot from just yesterday, so that's a great sign for us.
"Today was a good day for us. Obviously, we hate losing and it's not our standard of how we operate. We don't schedule these top teams just to learn from them, we schedule them to beat them. But for what we're working with right now, I was proud of the way our guys competed."
The Devils will enjoy a much-needed week off nursing minor injuries before returning to Whiteman Tennis Center Tuesday, March 17 to host Indiana at 5 p.m.
#14 Wake Forest 4, Arizona State 1
Singles competition
1. #38 Bar Botzer (WFU) def. Nathan Ponwith (ASU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Christian Lerby (ASU) def. Henri Squire (WFU) 7-5, 6-2
3. Andrea Bolla (ASU) vs. Taha Baadi (WFU) 2-6, 1-3, unf.
4. Melios Efstathiou (WFU) def. Tom LeBlanc (ASU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Eduardo Nava (WFU) def. Will Kirkman (ASU) 6-2, 6-4
6. George Stoupe (ASU) vs. #95 Rrezart Cungu (WFU) 4-6, 3-4, unf.
Doubles competition
1. #58 Henri Squire/Eduardo Nava (WFU) def. Nathan Ponwith/Christian Lerby (ASU) 6-3
2. Taha Baadi/Melios Efstathiou (WFU) def. George Stoupe/Tom LeBlanc (ASU) 7-6 (5)
3. Tim Ruehl/Will Kirkman (ASU) def. Bar Botzer/Rrezart Cungu (WFU) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,5,4,1)
All three doubles pairings for the Sun Devils (4-7) were playing together for the first time this season, and nearly started with the 1-0 lead.
"I thought it was much better today. Wake Forest, in my opinion, is a better team than Baylor and I thought we were more competitive today than yesterday, and we have two of our top three players are out," said head coach Matt Hill. "I was impressed with the doubles – all the pairings were brand new – and they put themselves in a position to win the point."
After Tim Ruehl and Will Kirkman took court three, 6-3, George Stoupe and Tom LeBlanc forced a tiebreak against Taha Baadi and Melios Efstathiou on court two. Baadi made a big backhand return and ended up taking the tiebreak, 7-5.
"That's a big point for us when we're playing with a thin singles lineup. Credit our guys for not allowing it to affect their belief in winning the match still," said Hill. "I felt like they still went out and felt they could put four points on the board."
On court two, playing on that court for the first time, Christian Lerby fought to a 7-5, 6-2 win over Henri Squire, who was 8-5 so far this season.
After taking courts five and four, the focus turned to court one o fNo. 38 Bar Botzer and Sun Devil Nathan Ponwith, who just returned to the ASU lineup this weekend. Botzer took set one, 6-2, but Ponwith battled back to keep it close before Botzer finished the second set 6-4.
"Nate is just getting back – it's his second match back – and we're happy to have him back out there," said Hill. "He's progressed a lot from just yesterday, so that's a great sign for us.
"Today was a good day for us. Obviously, we hate losing and it's not our standard of how we operate. We don't schedule these top teams just to learn from them, we schedule them to beat them. But for what we're working with right now, I was proud of the way our guys competed."
The Devils will enjoy a much-needed week off nursing minor injuries before returning to Whiteman Tennis Center Tuesday, March 17 to host Indiana at 5 p.m.
#14 Wake Forest 4, Arizona State 1
Singles competition
1. #38 Bar Botzer (WFU) def. Nathan Ponwith (ASU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Christian Lerby (ASU) def. Henri Squire (WFU) 7-5, 6-2
3. Andrea Bolla (ASU) vs. Taha Baadi (WFU) 2-6, 1-3, unf.
4. Melios Efstathiou (WFU) def. Tom LeBlanc (ASU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Eduardo Nava (WFU) def. Will Kirkman (ASU) 6-2, 6-4
6. George Stoupe (ASU) vs. #95 Rrezart Cungu (WFU) 4-6, 3-4, unf.
Doubles competition
1. #58 Henri Squire/Eduardo Nava (WFU) def. Nathan Ponwith/Christian Lerby (ASU) 6-3
2. Taha Baadi/Melios Efstathiou (WFU) def. George Stoupe/Tom LeBlanc (ASU) 7-6 (5)
3. Tim Ruehl/Will Kirkman (ASU) def. Bar Botzer/Rrezart Cungu (WFU) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,5,4,1)