SAN FRANCISCO – It's official, Murphy Cassone is the best in the west.  The Pac-12 Conference announced Cassone earned the Pac-12's Freshman of the Year award today. He also earned a spot on the all-conference first-team. Cassone went 15-5 in singles (9-0 Pac-12) and 10-9 in doubles during the spring season. Doubles partner Jacob Bullard earned All-Conference honorable mention for his efforts. Fabien Salle was an All-Conference honorable mention too for earning nine singles and 11 doubles victories during the year. The announcements comes a day after Cassone had his ticket punched to the NCAA Singles Championship May 23-28 in Champaign, Illinois.
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Cassone comes in at No. 20 in the May 4 ITA rankings after defeating seven ranked opponents, which included upsetting August Holmgren from San Diego who was the No. 1 player in the country at the time. It wasn't Cassone's only upset, as he defeated No. 2 Arthur Fury (Stanford), No. 6 Clement Chidekh (Washington) and No. 9 Daniel De Jonge (Pepperdine) during the season. His successful freshman campaign included ending the season winning 13 of his last 15 single matches, with a nine-match winning streak. Head coach Matt Hill will send a player to the singles championships for the second consecutive season following Nathan Ponwith who lost in the first round to eventual national champion Sam Riffice of Florida.
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The singles and doubles competition will be conducted May 23-28 at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Champaign, Illinois, after the conclusion of the team championship, which runs from May 19-22. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will serve as host.
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HE'S GOING DANCING!
— Sun Devil M. Tennis (@SunDevilMTennis) May 4, 2022
The country's top freshman has earned a bid into the NCAA Singles Championship ??
?? https://t.co/rPQwWiJnQq pic.twitter.com/Vcx9Sw84wj
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Cassone comes in at No. 20 in the May 4 ITA rankings after defeating seven ranked opponents, which included upsetting August Holmgren from San Diego who was the No. 1 player in the country at the time. It wasn't Cassone's only upset, as he defeated No. 2 Arthur Fury (Stanford), No. 6 Clement Chidekh (Washington) and No. 9 Daniel De Jonge (Pepperdine) during the season. His successful freshman campaign included ending the season winning 13 of his last 15 single matches, with a nine-match winning streak. Head coach Matt Hill will send a player to the singles championships for the second consecutive season following Nathan Ponwith who lost in the first round to eventual national champion Sam Riffice of Florida.
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The singles and doubles competition will be conducted May 23-28 at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Champaign, Illinois, after the conclusion of the team championship, which runs from May 19-22. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will serve as host.
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Guy's been unstoppable all year, so this is no surprise. ?? pic.twitter.com/XlUXSlUzE0
— Sun Devil M. Tennis (@SunDevilMTennis) May 4, 2022
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