ASU weekend lookahead: Men's tennis hosts first tournament since return to NCAA
Jenna Ortiz
Arizona State men’s tennis (1-6) will host its first tournament since its return to the NCAA in the 2017-18 season in the ASU 8-Team Invitational from Friday to Sunday at the Kiwanis Tennis Facility.
The competition will include No. 34 Memphis, No. 65 Rice, and No. 71 UC Santa Barbara, along with Cal Poly, New Mexico, South Florida and Utah State. Two matches will be played each day, starting at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
ASU hasn't hosted a full tournament since returning from a 10-year hiatus, but hosted two three-team invites in 2018 and 2019. At the Tempe Collegiate Cup in 2019, ASU earned an upset over No. 16 Illinois.
The Sun Devils are coming off a week without action, but saw improvement in its previous match on Feb. 11 against No. 21 Pepperdine where freshman Murphy Cassone knocked off No. 9 Daniel De Jonge and senior Fabien Salle upset No. 22 Pietro Fellin.
Around campus
— ASU swimming and diving begins its postseason at the Pac-12 Championships with the women’s swim team competing in Washington. The event started Wednesday and continues through Saturday.
Last time at the Pac-12 Championships in 2020, Emma Nordin captured her first Pac-12 title in the 500 freestyle with a nation-best and program-record time of 4:33.74. This season, the redshirt senior has set school records in the 1000 and 1650 free and has also posted the school's third-fastest time in the 500 free.
The men's diving team will compete in Tucson for the Pac-12 Championships, which started Wednesday and continues through Saturday. ASU’s dive team will feature sophomores Zachory Lundgren and Thomas Wesche, two mid-season transfers this season. Lundgren and Wesche were in the program for four weeks and three meets leading up to the Pac-12 Championships.
— After a 3-1 midweek victory over Nevada at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, ASU baseball returns to the field for a three-game series with BYU starting Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Friday's game is at 7 p.m. and Saturday's contest is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
ASU (3-1) was led by sophomore starter Tyler Meyer on Tuesday as he became the first Sun Devil starting pitcher to earn a win this season after going 5.0 innings with six strikeouts and no runs allowed. Thursday and Saturday’s games will be shown on the ASU Live Stream. The Sun Devils will be back on Pac-12 Network Friday, appearing on Pac-12 Arizona.
— ASU lacrosse (0-2) will host its home opener against San Diego State on Friday at 11 a.m. from Sun Devil Soccer/Lacrosse Stadium. ASU returns from close losses at Michigan and Northwestern, two top-10 teams in the NCAA. Senior Katie Brodsky leads ASU with five goals, while graduate student Emily Glagolev is the leading scorer with six points (two goals, four assists). Freshman Katie Vahle has made both starts in net, making 17 saves on 27 shots.
— Following the biggest win of the season against No. 15 UCLA last weekend, ASU gymnastics remains at Desert Financial Arena to face California on Sunday at 5 p.m. ASU has dropped its last two meets against Cal, including a close loss in Berkeley last season. Two ASU gymnasts were named to the Pac-12 weekly awards, including sophomore Emily White named as the gymnast of the week and junior Hannah Scharf earning the coaches choice of the week. The outstanding performances from the pair helped ASU defeat UCLA for the first time since 2001.
— No. 23 ASU softball (7-3) will head to its first road tournament of the season hosted by No. 11 Texas. The Sun Devils will get off to a busy start facing Texas and Tulsa in a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 1 p.m., Arizona time. ASU will then face Texas State and UTSA in a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. ASU will conclude the tournament on Sunday to face Texas again at 11:30 a.m. MT. ASU last faced Texas in 2019 in the Sun Devil Classic where Texas won the first matchup, but ASU rallied back in its second game and won 9-6.
— ASU beach volleyball begins its season this weekend at the Canyon Classic at Grand Canyon this Friday and Saturday. ASU will face Boise State and No. 9 GCU on Friday before a pairs tournament on Saturday. The tournament will be free and open to the public. ASU leads 5-3 against Boise State, including winning the last two meetings from 2021. ASU trails 1-2 against GCU all-time. The Lopes are returning from seven ranked wins in the 2021 season.
— ASU women’s tennis (5-2) will host a two-match homestand this weekend starting with San Diego on Saturday at noon and Kansas on Sunday at noon. ASU is 4-0 at home.
Reach the reporter at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com or 602-647-4122. Follow her on Twitter @jennarortiz.