Baylor Brings The Heat To Arizona State Men’s Tennis

TEMPE, Ariz.– No. 25 Arizona State Men’s Tennis came in hot to Sunday’s 100-degree matchup against No. 8 Baylor. Unfortunately, the Sun Devils couldn’t escape the heat falling 4-0 to the Bears.

Doubles Matches Clinched by the Bears

The doubles matches ended automatically with the Bears clinching victories on courts one and two, leaving senior Shu Matsuoka an unfinished tiebreak on court three.

“I thought we played too passive today. We weren’t finding our footing to get under us,” said head coach Matt Hill.

Hill has been experimenting with the doubles pairings to boost success and one strong combination today was junior Jelani Sarr and senior Roi Ginat. 

“Jelani and Roi are a new pair, Jelani’s such a power hitter and Roi is so steady so they complement each other really, really well,” Hill said. “When you get these polarizing styles together, it’s hard for the opponents.”

This pair was looking fierce, forcing Baylor into several missed returns, giving ASU the early advantage in the first few games. Roi delivered sharp volleys and precise backhands, challenging the Bears.

With two strong players, the game entered a tiebreak. In a tiebreak, nerves run high, especially against a higher-ranked team. 

Unfortunately, the Devils fell 10-8, ending on Ginat hitting an out-of-bounds shot.

Hill agreed the pair fought hard and said, “They did a good job on clawing their way back. But in a breaker of seven, those balls that you earn and you get, you got to execute there against the level of that team.” 

Singles Matches Fall Short

In the singles matches, sophomore Bor Artnak, ASU’s top player and No. 100 ITA-ranked, entered the match feeling confident despite playing No. 14 junior Devin Badenhorst.

“I think he believes he’s better than Devin, on the ground, which is true,” Hill said. “But sometimes a player plays too cautious when they’re on the ground against someone they believe that’s gonna miss.”

Badenhorst defeated Artnak 6-2, 6-1, proving to the Devils that the Bears did not come to mess around.

On court three, Matsuoka is a player who does not give up and grinds no matter how long it takes, including against No. 26 ITA-ranked junior Connor Van Schalkwyk.

After a hard match against TCU on Friday, Matsuoka needed to lock in for today; he had the momentum, but he couldn’t seal the deal. He fell 6-4, 6-2. 

“Mentally on three, we were too emotional,” Hill said.

Looking Ahead

Facing a top-10 team in record-breaking heat following a tough loss against TCU, the Sun Devils were definitely facing a challenge. 

Still, Hill remains optimistic and knows ASU can make its comeback.

“If we can continue to figure things out as we progress, then when you get into that NCAA tournament time, you feel great,” Hill said. “But first, we got to own our conference. We got a lot of data and information the last two days to teach us this has got to be better.”