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ASU Men’s Tennis: Sun Devils earn 4-1 win over Lobos

By Carson Roberts

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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ASU men’s tennis defeated New Mexico 4-1 Saturday in their final non-conference match of the season to improve their record to 11-6.

The Sun Devils cruised to a 4-1 victory Saturday afternoon over the University of New Mexico.

Although the Lobos (10-7) started off doubles play strong, Arizona State (11-6) went on to dominate each court.

“I don’t think we played our cleanest match. I don’t think we played our best match,” assistant coach Michal Kokta said. “But, we got a win and at the end of the day that’s the job we’re supposed to do.”

In doubles play, the Lobos took 1-0 leads on Courts 1 and 2 to begin the day.

Michaël Geerts and Tim Ruehl seemed out of sync against New Mexico’s Bart Van Leijsen and Jorge Escutia.

However, the tides turned for the Sun Devils, as Geerts and Ruehl found their rhythm again. The duo won six of the next seven games to win the set, 6-2.

On Court 2, ASU’s Andrea Bolla and Makey Rakotomalala took care of business with a 6-3 victory over Ricky Hernandez Tong and Dominic West.

Since becoming partners, Bolla and Rakotomalala have a 6-2 record, making them a feared combination on an improving doubles roster.

The second win claimed the doubles point for the Sun Devils, giving them a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.

The quick victory also meant Benjamin Hannestad and Will Kirkman saw their match with Stepan Holis and Sean Baklini cut short. ASU’s duo held a 5-3 lead and a 30-0 lead in the ninth game.

Following the success in doubles, the Sun Devils kept up their strong play in the singles matches, as they hoped for a quick victory over the Lobos.

On Court 1, Geerts squared off against Van Leijsen for the second time in the afternoon. The Sun Devils’ leader came out victorious again with 6-3, 6-4 sets.

On Court 3, Rakotomalala tacked on another point to ASU’s total with an easy 6-0, 6-4 win over Escutia.

Bolla’s 6-3, 6-4 contest against Holis on Court 5 sealed the win for the Sun Devils.

The only loss on the day for ASU came from Hannestad’s defeat at the hands of Hernandez Tong.

Hannestad’s slow start haunted him in the end, as Hernandez Tong took the first set 6-1, and eventually won the second set 6-4.

It was a surprising loss for one of ASU’s better players.

Ruehl and Kirkman saw their matches cut short with West and Baklini, respectively.

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

Now, the Sun Devils open up a six-game stretch of conference play before the Pac-12 Tournament, beginning with a March 31 meeting on the road against Utah.

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