The Sun Devil men's tennis program, discontinued after a 2008 NCAA Tournament loss to Duke, returns to team play on Saturday, Jan. 13, at 10:30 a.m. at Whiteman Tennis Center in a match against those same Blue Devils that will be televised by the Pac-12 Network. Duke enters the match ranked No. 25, while ASU will then take on No. 7 Texas A&M at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Jan. 14).
CAPTAINS: Michael Geerts is the Sun Devil captain this year, while Benjamin Hannestad and Thomas Wright will serve as assistant captains.
2017: Benjamin Hannestad (Arizona State); Benjamin Hannestad/Tim Ruehl (Arizona State)
2016: Gage Brymer (UCLA); Simond Freund/Morgan Mays (UCSB)
2015: Martin Redlicki (UCLA); Jordan Angus/Filip Vittek (San Diego)
2014: Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA); Mackenzie McDonald/Martin Redlicki (UCLA)
2013: Yannick Hanfmann (USC); Max de Vroome/Eric Johnson (USC)
2012: Marcos Giron (UCLA); Yannick Hanfmann/Eric Johson (USC)
2011: Ray Sarmiento (USC); Nikola Bubnic/Thibaut Visy (San Diego)
2010: Daniel Nguyen (USC); Amit Inbar/Nick Mesiter (UCLA)
2009: Amit Inbar (USC); Robert Farrah/Steve Johnson (USC)
VS. DUKE: Saturday's contest marks the fourth all-time meeting between the Blue Devils and the Sun Devils with Duke holding a 3-0 advantage in the series. The squads have met just once since 1987. In the last meeting, Duke topped Arizona State 4-2 on May 10, 2008, in the opening round of the NCAA Championship as the Sun Devils captured the doubles point before the Blue Devils stormed back with the final five singles decisions. Alex Stone clinched the match with a 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 win on court five against Wes Miller.
BRING IT ON: ASU in its comeback season playing one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation, and that is something first-year mentor Matt Hill plans on making a tradition. The Sun Devils will face Big Ten champion Ohio State, Big 12 champion TCU, SEC co-champion Texas A&M and will begin its season hosting No. 25 Duke on Jan. 13. After hosting Duke, the Sun Devils host No. 7 Texas A&M the next day (Jan. 14), as the Aggies advanced to the NCAA Championship Round of 16 before falling to UCLA last year and ended 21-7 on the year. After advancing to the Elite Eight for the second time in three seasons and eighth time overall in program history, TCU finished 22-5 marking the third straight season of 20-plus wins and swept the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles for the second straight season. TCU visits Tempe on Jan. 21 for a noon first serve. ASU also will play Ohio State who has won the Big Ten title seven times, including its 2017 title.
"Our goal at Arizona State is to put together the most difficult schedule for our student-athletes, so that they are challenged and pushed every week. I know this schedule shows that," says Hill. "We're very fortunate to have the coaches of our non-conference opponents support us by scheduling us during this period as we bring the program back. We're very grateful that they accepted. I also credit our staff for putting this schedule together. In addition to being great for our student-athletes, this schedule is exciting for the tennis community, and especially for our fans to be able to see the best competition college tennis has to offer."
CAPTAINS: Michael Geerts is the Sun Devil captain this year, while Benjamin Hannestad and Thomas Wright will serve as assistant captains.
RANKINGS: The Sun Devils received votes in the Oracle/ITA Jan. 3 rankings, as a national rankings panel voted on the top 25, and will do so up to the ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championships in February. Upon the conclusion of the two national events, team rankings will transition to the computerized system. The Pac-12 had four teams in the top-25, led by fifth-ranked USC and sixth-ranked Stanford. Both Stanford (No. 13) and California (No. 19) were ranked. ASU will host No. 25 Duke (Jan. 13) and No. 7 Texas A&M (Jan. 14) in its opening weekend, and then hosts No. 10 TCU on Jan. 21. The next set of national team rankings will be announced on January 17, 2018, while the singles and doubles rankings will make their 2018 debut on February 7.Get to know our only upperclassman Michaël!! ?? pic.twitter.com/YiMROIDiRn
— Sun Devil M. Tennis (@SunDevilMTennis) October 28, 2017
SOUTHWEST REGIONAL CHAMPIONS: The @SunDevilMTennis doubles team of Benjamin Hannestad and Tim Ruehl won the 2017 ITA Southwest Regional Championship in the fall, and then Hannestad decided he wanted more and took home the singles title. Held at both Malibu's Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center and the Crest Tennis Courts and hosted by Pepperdine, Hannestad and Ruehl defeated Pedro Iamachkine and Lautaro Pane of Pepperdine 6-4, 6-3 to earn the doubles title, and then Hannestad closed the deal with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over Nicolas Moreno de Alboran of UCSB. ??USC and UCLA had dominated the tournament in the past, winning every singles titles since 2009 and five doubles championships. Hannestad defeated three Pac-12 competitors on the way to his singles title.A decade later. Picking up from where we left off... But with a W! ?? https://t.co/zllnvU61dc
— Sun Devil M. Tennis (@SunDevilMTennis) January 7, 2018
RECENT ITA REGIONAL SOUTHWEST CHAMPIONSWho is this dude that just won @ITA_Tennis Southwest Regional title? @jeffmetcalfe @Pac12Network @ASU @ustacollege10s @USCollegeTennis pic.twitter.com/Ik30CbbimD
— Sun Devil M. Tennis (@SunDevilMTennis) October 24, 2017
2017: Benjamin Hannestad (Arizona State); Benjamin Hannestad/Tim Ruehl (Arizona State)
2016: Gage Brymer (UCLA); Simond Freund/Morgan Mays (UCSB)
2015: Martin Redlicki (UCLA); Jordan Angus/Filip Vittek (San Diego)
2014: Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA); Mackenzie McDonald/Martin Redlicki (UCLA)
2013: Yannick Hanfmann (USC); Max de Vroome/Eric Johnson (USC)
2012: Marcos Giron (UCLA); Yannick Hanfmann/Eric Johson (USC)
2011: Ray Sarmiento (USC); Nikola Bubnic/Thibaut Visy (San Diego)
2010: Daniel Nguyen (USC); Amit Inbar/Nick Mesiter (UCLA)
2009: Amit Inbar (USC); Robert Farrah/Steve Johnson (USC)
REGIONAL CHAMPION NOTE: There were 12 ITA Regional Championships held Oct. 13-23, Benjamin Hannestad was the only player to win both a singles and doubles title in 2017. Others to do it in past three seasons are Skander Mansouri (Wake Forest/2016) and Sam Monette (Indiana/2015).Get to know your other Southwest ITA Regionals Doubles Champ! ?????? pic.twitter.com/m10vX3IGyN
— Sun Devil M. Tennis (@SunDevilMTennis) October 26, 2017
.@SunDevilMTennis is preparing for their comeback season with a trio of leaders. https://t.co/5jCmy7oZ3m
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) January 5, 2018
VS. DUKE: Saturday's contest marks the fourth all-time meeting between the Blue Devils and the Sun Devils with Duke holding a 3-0 advantage in the series. The squads have met just once since 1987. In the last meeting, Duke topped Arizona State 4-2 on May 10, 2008, in the opening round of the NCAA Championship as the Sun Devils captured the doubles point before the Blue Devils stormed back with the final five singles decisions. Alex Stone clinched the match with a 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 win on court five against Wes Miller.
BRING IT ON: ASU in its comeback season playing one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation, and that is something first-year mentor Matt Hill plans on making a tradition. The Sun Devils will face Big Ten champion Ohio State, Big 12 champion TCU, SEC co-champion Texas A&M and will begin its season hosting No. 25 Duke on Jan. 13. After hosting Duke, the Sun Devils host No. 7 Texas A&M the next day (Jan. 14), as the Aggies advanced to the NCAA Championship Round of 16 before falling to UCLA last year and ended 21-7 on the year. After advancing to the Elite Eight for the second time in three seasons and eighth time overall in program history, TCU finished 22-5 marking the third straight season of 20-plus wins and swept the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles for the second straight season. TCU visits Tempe on Jan. 21 for a noon first serve. ASU also will play Ohio State who has won the Big Ten title seven times, including its 2017 title.
"Our goal at Arizona State is to put together the most difficult schedule for our student-athletes, so that they are challenged and pushed every week. I know this schedule shows that," says Hill. "We're very fortunate to have the coaches of our non-conference opponents support us by scheduling us during this period as we bring the program back. We're very grateful that they accepted. I also credit our staff for putting this schedule together. In addition to being great for our student-athletes, this schedule is exciting for the tennis community, and especially for our fans to be able to see the best competition college tennis has to offer."
We found an @ASU_Alumni high in the sky and checked in with @TheJetGuy ... proud ????? of @ASU https://t.co/d3dxWpmAwl
— Sun Devil M. Tennis (@SunDevilMTennis) December 15, 2017