Cassone Named ITA Southwest Rookie of the Year

TEMPE – Sun Devil Men’s Tennis’ Murphy Cassone was named the ITA Southwest regional Rookie of the Year. Cassone excelled at all levels of competition and was one of the most exciting players on the hard court throughout the season. The Pac-12 Freshman of the Year went undefeated in conference play and reached the first round of the NCAA Singles Championship. He ended the year 15-6 (9-0 Pac-12) in singles and 10-9 in doubles.
 
Cassone ended the season at No. 26 in the ITA singles rankings but peaked at No. 15 on April 20 which made him the highest ranked freshman in the country. Cassone defeated seven ranked opponents, including August Holmgren from San Diego who was the No. 1 player in the country at the time. It wasn’t Cassone’s only upset, as he defeated No. 2 Arthur Fury (Stanford), No. 6 Clement Chidekh (Washington) and No. 9 Daniel De Jonge (Pepperdine) during the season. His successful freshman campaign included ending the season winning 13 of his last 15 single matches, with a nine-match winning streak heading into the NCAA Championships.