ASU Men’s Tennis: Sun Devils host UNM for non-conference test

TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky spikes the pitchfork at center field after the college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. The Arizona State Sun Devils beat the Colorado Buffaloes 48-23. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky spikes the pitchfork at center field after the college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. The Arizona State Sun Devils beat the Colorado Buffaloes 48-23. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

In their first season since 2008, Arizona State men’s tennis has exceeded expectations, sitting at 10-6 through their first 15 matches.

Following a weekend in which they won two of three, ASU men’s tennis returns to Tempe Saturday for a non-conference match against New Mexico.

Arizona State took two of last weekend’s three matches in Indian Wells, California, at the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Tennis Challenge.

“We need to keep doing what we’re doing and stay focused from first to last and get the job done,” freshman Thomas Wright said.

In the first two matches, ASU defeated SMU and Tulsa by scores of 4-2 and 4-1, respectively. With the SMU and Tulsa wins, the Sun Devils advanced to the championship game against California.

Although it was a close match, California escaped Indian Wells with a 4-3 win over ASU.

“I think we played some good tennis at Indian Wells,” Wright said. “Unfortunate in the final against Cal, but we look to keep riding the wave that we’re on.”

The previously-scheduled Pac-12 match against the Golden Bears on March 10 was cancelled because of rain, and it has not been rescheduled.

Before they get into the heat of conference play, ASU will get a quick break with the Lobos coming into town this weekend.

New Mexico also comes into Saturday’s match with a 10-6 record, and this is the last non-conference match for the Lobos before they begin Mountain West play.

Most recently, the Lobos were defeated in Las Cruces in a loss to New Mexico State on March 15. The match was not close as the Aggies only allowed one point to UNM, ending a three-game Lobo winning-streak.

Saturday’s contest with the Lobos will begin at 1 p.m. PT and can be seen on the ASU Live Stream. While UNM enters the match unranked, the Sun Devils will look to avoid an upset in their last non-conference match of the regular season.

Next: ASU Men’s Tennis: BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Tennis Challenge Recap

“Every team can play; you can’t overlook any team,” Wright said. “Teams have played us and overlooked us, but everyone comes out fighting, and if anything, they’re going to come out fighting even harder because they want to make a statement.”

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.