ASU Tennis: Sun Devils cruise past Pepperdine in home opener

TEMPE, AZ - AUGUST 28: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot, "Sparky" performs during the college football game against the Weber State Wildcats at Sun Devil Stadium on August 28, 2014 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Wildcats 45-14. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - AUGUST 28: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot, "Sparky" performs during the college football game against the Weber State Wildcats at Sun Devil Stadium on August 28, 2014 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Wildcats 45-14. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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In its home opener, ASU tennis cruised to a 7-0 victory over Pepperdine. With the win, the Sun Devils are now 2-3 on the young season.

Nine months — that’s how long it had been since Arizona State last competed at Whiteman Tennis Center. The last time the Sun Devils took the courts at home, they upended their in-state rival, Arizona, which helped get them to the NCAA Tournament.

They picked up right where they left off.

Arizona State earned a 7-0 win over Pepperdine in its 2019 home opener, and the success began from the jump.

For the fourth time this season, the Sun Devils took the doubles point. Will Kirkman/Tim Ruehl and Dominik Kellovsky/Nathan Ponwith gave ASU an early 1-0 advantage, and the other pairing — Justin Roberts and Makey Rakotomalala — didn’t finish their match.

“It’s not an easy point,” ASU coach Matt Hill said. “It goes quick, so you’ve got to be focused and take it one point at a time.

“It’s always good to go to the locker room up one.”

Following the doubles victory, Arizona State built on its momentum; the Sun Devils didn’t lose one singles point.

Of the six singles matches, five were decided in two sets. Nathan Ponwith’s duel with Pepperdine’s Enrique Luque Rico was the only exception.

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In the first set, Ponwith struggled and eventually lost 7-6 in a tiebreaker. He rebounded nicely, however, winning the final two sets and completing the 7-0 sweep of Pepperdine.

When Ponwith trailed, he took more chances. Along with the increased amount of risks came momentum.

“You see moments of him playing aggressive,” Hill said. “When he was down, he invested in that style of play, and that showed him really good things.

“As a coaching staff, we were really happy to see that.”

Prior to joining the team, Ponwith played at Georgia for two seasons. In his first season, Ponwith was named SEC Freshman of the Year.

As far as returners, Tim Ruehl has been a catalyst this year. Saturday was no exception for the sophomore.

Ruehl improved to 3-1 in singles on the young season with a 6-2, 7-6 win over Matias Sborowitz: a former player on the professional circuit. According to Ruehl, his experience a year ago and dedication in the offseason have allowed him to polish his skills.

“I had a pretty good fall, changed some things in my game,” Ruehl said. “Last year helped me a lot, I had a lot of good wins.”

After a slew of tough losses to begin the year, things are looking up for ASU. The Sun Devils now sit just one game under .500 at 2-3.

Going forward, the Sun Devils’ toughest adversary could be their schedule.

Only a few more matches will be played at Whiteman, and the others will be away from home. Because of this, Rakotomalala stressed the importance of winning in Tempe.

“We only got five matches this year, we’ve got to take care of it,” Rakotomalala. “It’s always good to see all the energy in the crowd,”

Next week, Arizona State travels to the Midwest for matches against Indiana and Ohio State. In the ITA rankings, Indiana is unranked and Ohio State is the No. 2 team in the nation.

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