No. 22 ASU men's tennis won its fifth straight match to improve to 6-1 on the season on Friday with a 5-2 victory over the San Diego Toreros.
It was the newly ranked Sun Devils' most closely contested match since their only defeat of the season at then-No. 4 Texas, as they had won their previous four contests 6-1 or 7-0.
It also marked the first time all year that they did not secure the doubles point, despite the return of ASU's No. 1 pair of seniors Andrea Bolla and Tim Ruehl, who fell 6-1.
Each doubles match was lopsided, as sophomore George Stoupe and senior Nathan Ponwith also won 6-1 at No. 2, extending each of their win streaks in doubles play to six. Yet the Sun Devils' No. 3 pair of senior Makey Rakotomalala, who made his return from injury, and sophomore Tom LeBlanc fell 6-2 in their debut as a team to secure the doubles point for the Toreros.
However, the Sun Devils responded well in singles, winning the first four matches in straight sets to secure the victory. Ruehl won at No. 2, Bolla won at No. 4 and sophomore Christian Lerby won at No. 6, while Rakotomalala, who normally plays No. 2 singles, won 6-4, 6-4 at No. 3.
With a three-set victory at No. 5, Stoupe remained undefeated in singles play as well, as he now sits at 6-0 on the season.
The only player to fall for ASU was the previously undefeated Ponwith, who lost in three sets to No. 60 August Holmgren.
ASU will next face Oregon at home on Saturday as they begin Pac-12 play.
Reach the reporter at cbreber@asu.edu and follow @carsobi on Twitter.
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