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ASU Tennis: Sun Devils to return after three-week hiatus

By Carson Field

TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky performs on the field during the fourth quarter of the college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky performs on the field during the fourth quarter of the college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) /
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After dropping each of its first three matches, the Arizona State men’s tennis team looks for its first win of the season this weekend in the ASU Invitational.

Following an 0-3 start the the season, ASU tennis will attempt to return to .500 this weekend in a tournament hosted in Tempe.

The tournament, which is played at Whiteman Tennis Center, features three teams from California in Loyola Marymount, Fresno State and Cal Poly.

In Arizona State’s first three matches, the team fell to three ranked opponents, Duke, Texas A&M and TCU.

Arizona State lost 5-2 to both Duke and TCU, but the Sun Devils were only able to win one against the Aggies, dropping the match 6-1.

Wednesday, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) released its first singles rankings of the year, and three Sun Devils are featured in top 100 players.

Benjamin Hannestad checks in as the highest-ranked Sun Devil at No. 38, and Michael Geerts and Makey Rakotomalala follow behind him at No. 70 and No. 90, respectively.

ASU’s three players in the top 100 are the second most in the Pac-12 behind only Stanford, who is ranked fifth in the nation.

The first match for the Sun Devils in the invitational is Friday against Loyola Marymount. The Lions are unranked, but they are 3-1 with wins against San Diego State, UNLV and New Mexico State.

LMU’s one loss on the season came at the hands of No. 6 UCLA on the road.

Also on Friday, Arizona State faces Fresno State in singles action. The Bulldogs are 6-2 on the year, but they have not faced any high-caliber opponents thus far.

If the match is not decided after singles, ASU will battle Fresno State for the doubles point Saturday morning to determine the winner.

Play will conclude for the Sun Devils Saturday afternoon against Cal Poly. Similar to LMU, Cal Poly has started the season off strong with a 5-1 record, and the Mustangs’ only loss came against a top 10 team in Texas A&M.

Next: ASU Tennis: Sun Devils fall to No. 10 Horned Frogs

The ASU Invitational will begin at 9 a.m. Friday against Loyola Marymount, and all of ASU’s matches this weekend will be streamed on the ASU Live Stream-2.