This week, men's tennis got swept by Ohio State, water polo came back after a slow start to its season, men's golf came out victorious after a stellar performance from David Puig, and wrestling swept both its opponents.
Men’s tennis
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff Weekend took place this weekend at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center at the University of North Carolina where they were swept by No. 5 Ohio State 4-0.
It’s been a tough stretch of games for ASU; they have played three top-25 teams over the past two weeks, losing all of the meets by three points or more. That being said, It was more of the same for the Sun Devils today.
ASU was without one of its captains, Fabien Salle, this weekend, a major blow causing the Sun Devils to look outmatched from the start.
The day started off with the doubles, where ASU matched up against the top-two doubles teams in the country. Freshman Murphy Cassone and junior Jacob Bullard were soundly defeated by No. 2 Justin Boulais and James Trotter 6-1, while junior George Stoupe and sophomore Moritz Hoffmann were swept by No. 1 Robert Cash and Matej Vocel, 6-0.
The singles matches didn’t go any better for the Sun Devils, as they matched up against three top-25 players in the country. Sophomore co-captain Max McKennon was defeated by No. 5 Vocel 6-3, 6-2.
Bullard also fell to No. 14 JJ Tracy, 6-3, 6-1, while Cassone came the closest to winning a set but fell short losing in straight sets (6-4, 6-4) to Cannon Kingsley.
ASU will take on Northwestern Sunday to finish up the Kickoff Weekend before coming back to Tempe to play the University of San Diego Feb. 6.
Water Polo
After a forgetful opening weekend, No. 9 ASU water polo got back on track. The Sun Devils swept the weekend series against No. 17 Loyola Marymount University 16-8 and 18-10 at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center to go to 2-4 on the season.
The Sun Devils went into the matchup against the Lions falling from fourth to ninth in the rankings after dropping all four of their games to Fresno State, UCI, Cal and Michigan in the ASU Cross Conference Challenge.
In the first matchup on Saturday, ASU took control in the first quarter after the team scored only three goals in the period from senior Emma Fraser, sophomore Luca Petovary, and freshman Vanda Baksa. While up 3-0 to start the second, Baksa added to the lead with her second goal to make it 4-0 with 7:40 left in the period.
Ruth Arino Ruiz broke the drought for the Lions, but it was to no avail. By the end of the game, 11 different Sun Devils would score, including hat tricks from Petovary and Baksa.
Baksa kept her great momentum from last weekend by adding four more goals to make her season total to 13.
LMU kept it close early in Sunday’s game, tying at 3-3 with 3:20 left in the first quarter. ASU pulled away shortly after three straight goals from freshman Stevi Griffin, sophomore Alba Olivé Martí, and senior Blaire Mcdowell.
With the Sun Devils' first two wins under its belt, the team will travel to California next weekend for the Stanford Invitational to face Stanford, UC Davis and Cal.
Women’s golf
No. 20 ASU women’s golf opened the Spring season with a victory at the Match in the Desert, thanks to senior Alexandra Forsterling's and freshman Grace Summerhays' performances. This is the squad’s fourth consecutive win at this event.
Entering the second day of the tournament with a three-stroke lead, ASU kept its momentum and finished 18- under, five ahead of No. 2 Oklahoma State.
Forsterling entered day two first overall in the individual rankings but ultimately lost to OSU's Maddison Hinson-Tolchard by one stroke after going neck and neck with her all day. She finished with a respectable 9-under and second overall in the individual rankings.
The Match in the Desert marked the first tournament for Summerhays, who signed on with the Sun Devils in early January. She finished four strokes under par and fourth in the individual rankings.
“She’s a fighter, she’s tough, she’s fearless, and I think she’s a spark of energy I think we needed,” Coach Missy Farr-Kaye said. “It’s like she’s been with us for a long time, but she’s literally only been with us for two weeks.”
Sophomore Ashley Menne finished three under par and had an eagle at the event, while senior Alessandra Fanali finished two under par. Freshman Calynne Rosholt competed as an individual, finishing three under par, and junior Amanda Linner finished six over par.
ASU will compete next in the Lamkin Invitational in Rancho Santa Fe, California, on Feb. 14.
Men’s golf
ASU men’s golf has been officially ranked as the No.1 team in the nation, according to Golfweek. The jump from second to first comes as a result of the dominant win at the Southwest Intercollegiate, which took place from Jan. 24-26.
READ MORE: ASU men's golf victorious as Puig has consecutive wins at Southwest Intercollegiate
"I did see that we were ranked No.1 now, so that's kinda cool," head coach Matt Thurmond said. "We want to keep that as long as we can and forever … and I think the guys deserve it, they’re really good. But we’ve got a lot to do."
Freshman Preston Summerhays earned a sponsor’s exception to participate in the 2022 Waste Management Phoenix Open. The event will take place from Feb. 7-13.
“The experience is gonna be really cool. Waste Management is such a big tournament to me because I have been going there for the past 10 years, and I Iive, like, five minutes away from the course … so to play in this event in front of my hometown, it's something really special,” Summerhays said.
The team will be heading to Kona, Hawaii, from Feb. 3-5 to compete in the Amer Ari Invitational.
Track and field
ASU track and field took part in two meets this weekend, the distance runners competed in the first Pac-12 event of the season at the Washington Invitational Jan. 28-29, while everyone else was in Albuquerque again at the University of New Mexico Team Open on Saturday.
The Sun Devils came away with wins in six events at the UNM Open, while the distance squad struggled in Washington.
The throwing team brought five competitors for the shot put event and had no thrower place lower than fifth. Graduate student Jorinde Van Klinken hasn’t lost a step since Tokyo, throwing for 18.88 meters. Not only did she earn the win, but her throw was also good for second all-time at ASU and is currently the third-farthest in the world. Redshirt senior Turner Washington also took first for his throw of 20.93 meters.
Redshirt junior sprinter Alonna Johnson smashed her personal record in the 600-meter race by nearly two seconds. Her sprint of 1:31.54 beat the PR she set last weekend and moves her up to second all-time in ASU history.
Sophomore Dylan James came away with the gold in his long jump event, with a 7.41-meter leap. Junior Grace Campbell took home the silver in the high jump when she launched herself 1.75 meters, which is tied for sixth-best in program history. In the triple jump, junior Christina Warren earned her PR and the win for her 12.82-meter jump.
Sophomore sprinter Justin Robinson earned first in the 400-meter sprint with a time of 46.64 seconds, which was good for 10th all-time. Freshman Jalen Brown took home the silver at 47.63 seconds, giving ASU the first- and second-place finishes. Fellow freshman Adriana Tatum finished fourth in the 200-meter dash, and her time of 23.63 seconds is the sixth-fastest at ASU.
Sophomore sprinter Jamar Marshall Jr. continued his dominance in the 60-meter hurdle event, taking the gold in 7.81 seconds. Marshall Jr. and Brown helped the men’s 4x4 relay earn a second-place finish, while Johnson and Tatum contributed to the women’s 4x4 taking home second as well.
The full track and field team will be competing in Albuquerque for the third time this season Feb. 4-5, at the UNM Collegiate Classic. The squad will be splitting up again between Washington and New Mexico Feb. 11-12, visiting UNM for the fourth and final time this year.
Wrestling
After a three-game losing streak, No. 12 ASU wrestling team opened up Pac-12 play on the road against CSU Bakersfield and Cal Poly.
The Sun Devils were able to come away with two impressive victories by sweeping their two-game road trip, now 5-3 on the season.
ASU went into Bakersfield and came away with a 26-15 victory to kick off its road trip.
Freshman Kordell Norfleet and redshirt senior Anthony Valencia shined for the Sun Devils on Friday afternoon with a tech fall for Norfleet and a pin victory for Valencia.
The win for Valencia marked his 13th consecutive victory on the year as well as his fifth pin of the year.
CSUB ended up forfeiting the 133-pound weight class matchup, and redshirt junior Michael McGee collected the victory and six free points.
Redshirt freshman Kyle Parco collected another victory for himself and helped ASU win the 149-pound weight class matchup.
Redshirt sophomore Jacori Teemer took care of business in the 157-pound weight class and moved to an impressive 11-0 on the year.
Teemer suffered a head injury but still went on to win his match 10-3 after being patched up.
ASU would go on to win 125, 133, 149, 157, 165, and 197 pound weight classes against Bakersfield as they cruised to a 26-15 victory.
ASU won its second consecutive Pac-12 match with a 20-18 victory against Cal Poly.
Cal Poly took early control of the match, with redshirt sophomore Adam Kemp and redshirt sophomore Bernie Truax taking victories over redshirt freshman Zane Coleman and freshman Jacob Ortiz, respectively.
Redshirt junior Brandon Courtney had an intense bout with Cal Poly redshirt freshman Antonio Lorenzo. After a few takedowns from Lorenzo, Courtney shifted the momentum as he was able to come away with the victory.
Parco kept up his diligent wrestling after his win against redshirt freshman Legend Lamer. While it was a low profile matchup, Parco has been another bright spot for ASU as he improves to a team-best 14-1 on the year.
The marquee matchup between Evan Wick and Valencia didn't go the way ASU had planned. Wick, the No. 1 wrestler in the country, dominated much of the matchup and kept Valencia in his control for a majority of the fight. With the loss, Valencia now moves to 13-1 on the year after winning his previous 13 matches.
After a couple of point reversals, heavyweight redshirt freshman Cohlton Schultz was able to come away with an 8-3 victory against redshirt junior Samuel Aguilar.
The Sun Devils have now started 2-0 in Pac-12 play and they will look to continue this trend when they host No. 25 Oregon State next Sunday.
Gymnastics
No. 16 ASU gymnastics was finally able to secure its first victory of the season on Friday night as it pulled off a 195.275-195.100 nail biter against Washington.
The Gym Devils started the night on vault where standout junior Hannah Scharf and sophomore Jada Mangahas led the team with an impressive 9.825 score.
On bars was sophomore Sarah Clark's turn to shine. She recorded a team-best score of 9.875, which helped the Gym Devils stay afloat in the contest.
It was on beam where ASU had its best collective performance, scoring a total of 49.025. The round was outlined by a 9.800 by senior Jasmine Gutierrez helping the Gym Devils cling to a .650 lead.
Scharf put the icing on the cake for the Gym Devils with a walk-off 9.875 performance on bars, propelling ASU to its first win of the season.
"We certainly did not start the way we wanted to, but I love the fight that the team showed,” co-head coach Jay Santos said. “They never lost their energy, never lost their fight, even with the mistake on the beam and coming back and being able to finish the beam strong and finishing floor so we could hang on. From there, we have to get rid of the mistakes, we have to clean up, we have to execute."
The Gym Devils look to build off their first win when they face off against Oregon State on Feb. 5.
Women’s Tennis
ASU women’s tennis split its matches this weekend, losing to No. 25 Auburn before defeating UCSB.
On Friday, the Sun Devils suffered a crushing 4-3 loss against the Tigers.
ASU started strong by winning doubles. Freshman Patricija Spaka and senior Domenika Turkovic beat junior Selin Ovunc and sophomore Ariana Arseneault 6-4. Seniors Sedona Gallagher and Cali Jankowski took down junior Carolyn Ansari and graduate student Madeline Meredith 6-4.
ASU battled in singles, and all four of its losses were taken to the third set. Janikowski beat graduate student Georgie Axon and Spaka defeated senior Yu Chen.
ASU bounced back Saturday, taking down UCSB 4-1.
The Sun Devils cleaned up in doubles after sophomore Marianna Argyrokastriti and sophomore Giulia Morlet beat junior Kira Reuter and freshman Amelia Honer 6-1. Janikowski and Gallagher defeated freshman Filippa Bruu-Syversen and sophomore Camille Kiss 6-3.
ASU cruised in singles play with victories for Turkovic (6-4, 6-2), Gallagher (who lost the first set 6-3, then won the final two 6-4, 6-1) and Spaka (7-6, 6-2).
The Sun Devils will hit the road next to face the Oklahoma Sooners on Feb. 12 before playing Kansas State at home on Feb. 20.
Reach the reporters at jspange1@asu.edu, vdeange1@asu.edu, rmastey@asu.edu, whsmith8@asu.edu, nnath2@asu.edu, atschmi2@asu.edu and dstipano@asu.edu and follow @Jspangenthal94, @vdeangelis2024, @MasteyRemy, @WalkerrTR, @NathNikash, @Dstipanovichh and @Schmitty9999 on Twitter.
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Justin Spangenthal is a reporter for The State Press, currently covering Men's Golf and Track and Field. Justin transferred to ASU last January and is planning to graduate Fall '23. He is passionate about journalism and hopes to one day launch his own media outlet.
Vincent Deangelis is a full-time reporter for the sports department at The State Press. He has previously worked for Arizona PBS and AZPreps365.com.
Walker Smith is a managing editor in the digital department of the State Press. He has previously worked as a reporter and editor on the sports desk and works for Blaze Radio and interned at Big Slate Media in broadcast productions.
Aaron Schmidt is a sports reporter who covers ASU Baseball and ASU Women’s Golf for The State Press. He previously covered Higley High School football for AZPreps365.
