TEMPE - No. 21 Arizona State (7-1, 1-0 Pac-12) kept the good times rolling into conference play Friday afternoon with a 5-2 win over visiting Oregon (8-1, 0-1 Pac-12) at the Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe. ASU is now undefeated in six matches and still has yet to drop a match at home. Senior Andrea Bolla moved to 7-1 in singles play and extended his winning streak to six with his two-set victory.
"I thought the guys competed really well today, from the beginning to the end," head coach Matt Hill said. "We know Oregon is a good team. Their coach has done some good recruiting and added a lot of talent to the roster and that showed today. There were some difficult tests but the guys did well with the challenges.
"Makey did a fantastic job in singles and doubles, and Jonah Wilson did an unreal job stepping into doubles. He hasn't been playing doubles but he stepped in and was clutch and played at a really high level so that was massive for us. Andrea's been playing great tennis so that wasn't surprising to see him win, but it was exciting to see him continue doing it."
Wilson's been limited thus far this season but holds a 2-1 singles record and 2-0 doubles record across matches with Tim Ruehl and Moritz Hoffmann. Makey Rakotomalala had a tough start to the season with three-straight losses, two coming against top-25 opponents, but has won two straight after today.
How it happened:
Doubles
ASU had to fight for everything it earned today. The match opened with Nathan Ponwith/George Stoupe dropping No. 1 doubles 6-4, but Rakotomalala and Ruehl battled to a 6-4 victory at No.2 to tie things up moments before Wilson/Hoffmann clinched the first point with a 6-3 win at No. 3
Singles
Rakotomalala went on a tear in singles, quickly handling Oregon's Brandon Lam 6-2, 6-3 at No. 4 to put ASU up 2-0. Bolla followed at No. 3 shortly after, playing a close 6-4 first set before blazing through set two, 6-1, to put the Maroon and Gold one point away from clinching. Christian Lerby confirmed the day for the Sun Devils with a 6-3, 7-5 victory at court No. 6
Up Next
The Maroon and Gold take on the New Mexico Lobos Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the second match of the weekend. NMU nearly topped the Ducks Thursday but suffered a close 4-3 loss in the neutral site matchup.
"There's a lot of tennis and a lot of good competition this weekend so we need to be smart with our bodies and disciple habits that allow us to perform at the highest level that we bring," Hill said. "Three in a row is not easy but in order to win the Pac-12 title this is the structure of play and it's good for us to feel that and experience the rhythm of that."
Feb 26, 2021 at Tempe, AZ
(Whiteman Tennis Center)
#21 Arizona State 5, Oregon 2
Singles competition
1. Nathan Ponwith (ASU) def. Emmanuel Coste (ORE) 6-2, 4-3, retired
2. Joshua Charlton (ORE) def. Tim Ruehl (ASU) 7-6, 6-1
3. Andrea Bolla (ASU) def. Quinn Vandecasteele (ORE) 6-4, 6-1
4. Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) def. Brandon Lam (ORE) 6-2, 6-3
5. Jesper Klov-Nilsson (ORE) def. George Stoupe (ASU) 6-2, 7-5
6. Christian Lerby (ASU) def. Luke Vandecasteele (ORE) 6-3, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. Joshua Charlton/Quinn Vandecasteele (ORE) def. Nathan Ponwith/George Stoupe (ASU) 6-4
2. Tim Ruehl/Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) def. Brandon Lam/Luke Vandecasteele (ORE) 6-4
3. Moritz Hoffmann/Jonah Wilson (ASU) def. Emmanuel Coste/Jesper Klov-Nilsson (ORE) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (4,3,6,1,5,2)
Win the Pac-12 opener ?
— Sun Devil M. Tennis (@SunDevilMTennis) February 27, 2021
Extend the winning streak to six ?
Defend home turf ? pic.twitter.com/hYJoHQpgms
"I thought the guys competed really well today, from the beginning to the end," head coach Matt Hill said. "We know Oregon is a good team. Their coach has done some good recruiting and added a lot of talent to the roster and that showed today. There were some difficult tests but the guys did well with the challenges.
"Makey did a fantastic job in singles and doubles, and Jonah Wilson did an unreal job stepping into doubles. He hasn't been playing doubles but he stepped in and was clutch and played at a really high level so that was massive for us. Andrea's been playing great tennis so that wasn't surprising to see him win, but it was exciting to see him continue doing it."
Wilson's been limited thus far this season but holds a 2-1 singles record and 2-0 doubles record across matches with Tim Ruehl and Moritz Hoffmann. Makey Rakotomalala had a tough start to the season with three-straight losses, two coming against top-25 opponents, but has won two straight after today.
FIRST OFF!!
— Sun Devil M. Tennis (@SunDevilMTennis) February 26, 2021
Rakotomalala takes singles four 6-2, 6-3 to put ASU up 2-0! pic.twitter.com/76Vu0sEi3i
How it happened:
Doubles
ASU had to fight for everything it earned today. The match opened with Nathan Ponwith/George Stoupe dropping No. 1 doubles 6-4, but Rakotomalala and Ruehl battled to a 6-4 victory at No.2 to tie things up moments before Wilson/Hoffmann clinched the first point with a 6-3 win at No. 3
Singles
Rakotomalala went on a tear in singles, quickly handling Oregon's Brandon Lam 6-2, 6-3 at No. 4 to put ASU up 2-0. Bolla followed at No. 3 shortly after, playing a close 6-4 first set before blazing through set two, 6-1, to put the Maroon and Gold one point away from clinching. Christian Lerby confirmed the day for the Sun Devils with a 6-3, 7-5 victory at court No. 6
Up Next
The Maroon and Gold take on the New Mexico Lobos Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the second match of the weekend. NMU nearly topped the Ducks Thursday but suffered a close 4-3 loss in the neutral site matchup.
"There's a lot of tennis and a lot of good competition this weekend so we need to be smart with our bodies and disciple habits that allow us to perform at the highest level that we bring," Hill said. "Three in a row is not easy but in order to win the Pac-12 title this is the structure of play and it's good for us to feel that and experience the rhythm of that."
?????? ?????????? ??????????????!!
— Sun Devil M. Tennis (@SunDevilMTennis) February 26, 2021
Lerby takes No. 6, and Bolla wins at No. 3 to clinch the day for ASU ?? pic.twitter.com/Sp79288MZp
Feb 26, 2021 at Tempe, AZ
(Whiteman Tennis Center)
#21 Arizona State 5, Oregon 2
Singles competition
1. Nathan Ponwith (ASU) def. Emmanuel Coste (ORE) 6-2, 4-3, retired
2. Joshua Charlton (ORE) def. Tim Ruehl (ASU) 7-6, 6-1
3. Andrea Bolla (ASU) def. Quinn Vandecasteele (ORE) 6-4, 6-1
4. Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) def. Brandon Lam (ORE) 6-2, 6-3
5. Jesper Klov-Nilsson (ORE) def. George Stoupe (ASU) 6-2, 7-5
6. Christian Lerby (ASU) def. Luke Vandecasteele (ORE) 6-3, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. Joshua Charlton/Quinn Vandecasteele (ORE) def. Nathan Ponwith/George Stoupe (ASU) 6-4
2. Tim Ruehl/Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) def. Brandon Lam/Luke Vandecasteele (ORE) 6-4
3. Moritz Hoffmann/Jonah Wilson (ASU) def. Emmanuel Coste/Jesper Klov-Nilsson (ORE) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (4,3,6,1,5,2)