STARKVILLE– Arizona State Men’s Tennis (2-1) travels to their first away match of the 2024 season for the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Starkville, Mississippi. The team will face No. 25 Florida State (3-1) on Saturday, January 27 at 12:00 p.m. MST, and will play either No. 12 Mississippi State (4-0) or Virginia Commonwealth (0-1) in their second match on Sunday, January 28. Live stats and live streams will be available here.
In their match against No. 25 Baylor last week, the Sun Devils rallied from a 3-1 deficit but the comeback bid fell short and the Bears won the final singles match of the night in the third set to defeat ASU 4-3.
Sun Devil Outlook
The Sun Devils have earned a 2-1 record this season after hosting three home matches this season. The team has wins over Northern Arizona University and Wichita State University, with the most recent loss coming to No. 25 Baylor last week.
ASU has not picked up an ITA Kickoff Weekend win since January of 2019, when the team won by forfeit over Loyola Marymount due to illness– their only ITA Kickoff Weekend victory since being reinstated in 2018.
At the ITA Kickoff Weekend in 2023, the Sun Devils dropped both matches, 2-4, in Waco, Texas at the Baylor Regional. Last season the team faced No. 12 Baylor and the University of San Diego.
Scouting the Opponents
The Florida State Seminoles dropped to No. 25 in the ITA Rankings released on January 24 after falling to No. 17 Mississippi State 6-1, but defeating Alabama 4-3 in their second match of last weekend. They previously sat at No. 20 on the charts. It was the Seminoles’ first road victory of the season.
The host, Mississippi State, moved up five spots in the polls to sit at No. 12 this weekend after defeating then-No. 20 Florida State 6-1 last weekend. The bulldogs also earned a 7-0 win against Tennessee State to improve to 4-0 on the season.
Virginia Commonwealth sits at 0-1 on the season, but has reigning A-10 Player of the Week in Mathias Bondaz, after he defeated No. 18 Pedro Rodenas in last week’s match against No. 8 Duke.
Fans can follow @SunDevilMTennis on Instagram, X (Twitter), and Facebook for match coverage and updates during the 2024 season.
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