SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Fifth-seeded No. 27 Arizona State took it to the wire but came out on top, 4-3, over fourth-seeded No. 28 UCLA Saturday afternoon in the first round of the Pac-12 Championship in San Diego. ASU claimed its first win over the Bruins since the program's reinstatement with the victory and is now slated to play top-seeded No. 23 Stanford Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.
"I'm really proud of the guys for growing in some areas where we've been challenging them to grow in. The losses we've had this year have taught us what things we've needed to change to be successful and they did a really good job with that today.
UCLA has never before had a first-round exit in the Pac-12 Tournament since the inaugural championship in 2012. No. 95 Nathan Ponwith clinched the day for the Sun Devils with a dramatic three-set upset victory at No. 1 over No. 74 Govind Nanda.
"Nate is a warrior man. An absolute warrior. His match had a lot of different changes in momentum in it but he stayed the course and stuck to his game plan when it really counted at the very end of the match and when you do that, good things happen. So I'm proud of him."
4/24/2021 at San Diego, CA
(Barnes Tennis Center)
#27 Arizona State 4, #28 UCLA 3
Singles competition
1. #95 Nathan Ponwith (ASU) def. #74 Govind Nanda (UCLA) 7-5, 2-6, 6-4
2. #115 Drew Baird (UCLA) def. Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-2
3. Tim Ruehl (ASU) def. Ben Goldberg (UCLA) 6-3, 6-2
4. Sam Feit (UCLA) def. George Stoupe (ASU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Roscoe Bellamy (UCLA) def. Max McKennon (ASU) 6-4, 6-4
6. Christian Lerby (ASU) def. Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Makey Rakotomalala/Tim Ruehl (ASU) def. #68 Drew Baird/Govind Nanda (UCLA) 6-3
2. Bryce Pereira/Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) def. Max McKennon/Nathan Ponwith (ASU) 6-3
3. Christian Lerby/George Stoupe (ASU) def. Roscoe Bellamy/Mathew Tsolakyan (UCLA) 7-5
Arizona State 15-7; National ranking #27
UCLA 12-6; National ranking #28
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (3,5,4,6,2,1)
???????? ???????? ????????!!
— Sun Devil M. Tennis (@SunDevilMTennis) April 25, 2021
Nathan Ponwith comes in clutch in the third set to lead ASU to an upset victory over the Bruins! ?? pic.twitter.com/qceNx2WIdT
"I'm really proud of the guys for growing in some areas where we've been challenging them to grow in. The losses we've had this year have taught us what things we've needed to change to be successful and they did a really good job with that today.
UCLA has never before had a first-round exit in the Pac-12 Tournament since the inaugural championship in 2012. No. 95 Nathan Ponwith clinched the day for the Sun Devils with a dramatic three-set upset victory at No. 1 over No. 74 Govind Nanda.
"Nate is a warrior man. An absolute warrior. His match had a lot of different changes in momentum in it but he stayed the course and stuck to his game plan when it really counted at the very end of the match and when you do that, good things happen. So I'm proud of him."
Not a bad time to claim our FIRST VICTORY over UCLA since reinstatement. ?? pic.twitter.com/vvKNSAVsI6
— Sun Devil M. Tennis (@SunDevilMTennis) April 25, 2021
4/24/2021 at San Diego, CA
(Barnes Tennis Center)
#27 Arizona State 4, #28 UCLA 3
Singles competition
1. #95 Nathan Ponwith (ASU) def. #74 Govind Nanda (UCLA) 7-5, 2-6, 6-4
2. #115 Drew Baird (UCLA) def. Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-2
3. Tim Ruehl (ASU) def. Ben Goldberg (UCLA) 6-3, 6-2
4. Sam Feit (UCLA) def. George Stoupe (ASU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Roscoe Bellamy (UCLA) def. Max McKennon (ASU) 6-4, 6-4
6. Christian Lerby (ASU) def. Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Makey Rakotomalala/Tim Ruehl (ASU) def. #68 Drew Baird/Govind Nanda (UCLA) 6-3
2. Bryce Pereira/Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) def. Max McKennon/Nathan Ponwith (ASU) 6-3
3. Christian Lerby/George Stoupe (ASU) def. Roscoe Bellamy/Mathew Tsolakyan (UCLA) 7-5
Arizona State 15-7; National ranking #27
UCLA 12-6; National ranking #28
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (3,5,4,6,2,1)