Another 4-3 Thriller Ends in a Loss for UW

Sunday, April 8

Seattle, WA

12:00 PM

University of Washington

Arizona State

April 08, 2018 | Men's Tennis

SEATTLE – Washington men's tennis came up just short in a tough match against No. 37 Arizona State, falling 4-3 on Sunday in the final home match of the year. Similar to Friday's match against Arizona, this match came down to an intense third set with the match score even at 3-3.

"Our guys maybe don't have as much tennis experience as some of their guys," Washington head coach Matt Anger said. "But our guys are good students of the game and were able to make good adjustments. We just didn't finish it off."

In doubles, the Huskies (11-10, 1-4 Pac-12) battled hard, but the Sun Devils (13-7, 1-2 Pac-12) eventually ended up taking the doubles point. On court one, Kawika Lam and Enzo Sommer couldn't quite find a rhythm and ended up dropping the set 6-1. At No. 3 doubles, Jack Davis and Alexis Alvarez got out to an early lead, but Arizona State came back to take the set 6-2 and clinch the doubles point.

The singles matches featured a lot of close sets and back and forth play as both the Huskies and the Sun Devils fought hard to come out on top. On court five, Davis got into an early groove, taking his first set 6-4, and continued his momentum into the second set where he won 6-2, claiming his match.

On court two, Mitch Stewart came out with a ton of energy, but found himself in a bit of a hole in set one. After battling back in the first set to win 6-4, Stewart then cruised to a 6-2 victory in second set, securing himself the match win.

Sebastian Hawken came out on fire on court six, winning the first set 6-3. He then dropped set two 6-3, setting the stage for a match-deciding third set. Hawken got out to an early lead but couldn't quite keep his momentum up throughout the entire set, falling in the third set 6-4 and losing the match.

On court one, Jake Douglas found himself in an early hole, down 5-1 in set one. Douglas dug deep and started to heat up, winning six-straight games to take the first set 7-5 in an impressive comeback. Douglas dropped the second set 6-1, but in set three he was able to find the rhythm he had in set one, winning the third set 6-3 and taking the match.

Enzo Sommer and Makey Rakotomalala traded games all afternoon on court three. Sommer was able to get the edge in a tiebreaker in the first set, winning 7-6(5). Despite playing well in sets two and three, Sommer couldn't quite finish it off, falling 6-4 in both sets and dropping the match.

The match between the Huskies and the Sun Devils came down to set three on court four between Amit Batta and Tim Ruehl. Both players fought hard all afternoon, with Batta taking the first set 6-2 and Ruehl coming out on top after a set-two tiebreaker 7-6(4). Batta couldn't quite edge Ruehl out in set three, however, falling 6-4.

Following the match, the three seniors were honored: Joao Barra, Jake Douglas and Mitch Stewart.

The Huskies travel to Utah next Friday, April 13th for a 3:00 p.m. PT match against the University of Utah. Live scoring and streaming can be found on the men's tennis schedule page.

Results
Washington - 3
#37 Arizona State - 4

Doubles (Order of finish: 1, 3)
1) Ruehl/Geerts (ASU) def. Lam/Sommer (UW) 6-1
2) Douglas/Stewart (UW) vs. #86 Rakotomalala/Bolla (ASU) DNF 4-4
3) Kirkman/Hannestad (ASU) def. Davis/Alvarez (UW) 6-2

Singles (Order of finish: 5, 2, 6, 1, 3, 4)
1) #90 Jake Douglas (UW) def. #49 Michael Geerts (ASU) 7-5, 1-6, 6-3
2) #81 Mitch Stewart (UW) def. #66 Benjamin Hannestad (ASU) 6-4, 6-2
3) Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) def. Enzo Sommer (UW) 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4
4) Tim Ruehl (ASU) def. Amit Batta (UW) 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-3
5) Jack Davis (UW) def. Andrea Bolla (ASU) 6-4, 6-2
6) Will Kirkman (ASU) def. Sebastian Hawken (UW) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4