TEMPE, Ariz. – No. 31 Sun Devil men's tennis is set to take to their home court for the final time this season as they take on Utah this Saturday at 1 p.m.. The match will serve as Senior Day for graduate student Justin Roberts, who transferred to Arizona State to play under coach Matt Hill for his final collegiate season.
"Justin's impact on this program in his one year here is genuinely impossible to put into words," coach Matt Hill said. "He knows me and my system, and I have a high level of trust in him because I've known him for so long. Even longer than I've known my assistant coaches."
Roberts played under Hill during his tenure at South Florida, advancing to the round of 16 during his freshman year in doubles. Aside from Hill, Roberts was also familiar with volunteer assistant coach Dominic Cotrone as the two posted an 8-2 record in doubles play during the 2015-16 season.
Hill coached the Bahamian for two seasons before leaving Tampa to take the reins of Sun Devil men's tennis, and Roberts played one more season as a Bull before deciding to transfer for his final season of eligibility.
"It's very difficult to put some kind of benchmark on how much impact Justin has had on this program because he's had a bigger impact than he even realizes, or probably that I even realize," Hill said. "He was a much-needed piece of the puzzle this year that I don't even think I knew at the time."
Aside from his leadership off the court, Roberts has performed on-court as well for the maroon and gold, currently riding a six-match win streak into his Senior Day. Roberts proved to be a valuable addition on the doubles court, posting 10 wins this season between two partners.
The Sun Devils as a team are also on a role as of late after posting a perfect 4-0 record last week over Delaware, No. 42 Oregon, Washington and GCU. The wins bring ASU over the .500 mark in both their overall and conference record as they begin to set their sights toward the postseason.
"It's exciting to see us moving in the right direction at the right time of year because it's something that we talk about all the time," Hill said. "It doesn't always happen that way, so it's amazing to see for sure."
For their efforts last week, the squad moved up one spot in the team ranking to 31 while Nathan Ponwith jumped nine spots to No. 62 and he and doubles partner Dominik Kellovsky moved up one spot to No. 8. Andrea Bolla/Tim Ruehl rounded out the Sun Devils in the newest rankings for the 15th-straight week, hitting the poll at No. 81.
"The guys have been going well, and we've had a really good month," Hill said. "We're starting to see them really work together as a group and it's been good to have them healthy and training more frequently."
While they excelled together as a doubles pair, Ponwith and Kellovsky have both been on hot streaks as singles players as well. Both went undefeated in four matches last week with Ponwith going 4-0 and Kellovsky going 3-0 after going unfinished against Ty Gentry of Oregon.
The wins secured both men four-match win streaks, with Ponwith taking victories in five of his last eight and Kellovsky six of his last nine.
"We knew they had that level in them, but to be peaking toward the end of the season is a testament of all the hard work they've been putting in," Hill said. "Having our top two courts perform well gives the team a lot of confidence because it doesn't matter where a team is ranked, their top players are always good."
Bolla has also performed as a singles player as of late, winning three of his last five matches including a quick 6-1, 6-1 victory in less than an hour over Delware. The Italian also clinched the Sun Devils' 4-1 win over GCU with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-0 victory.
"He's been playing the best tennis we've ever seen out of him evening dating back to the fall or last year," Hill said. "It's great to see him playing his best tennis, and I think we've going to see some big things out of him in the latter part of the season."
First serve with the Utes is set for 1 p.m. on Sat. April 13. Fans can keep up with the action all season-long by following @SunDevilMTennis on Twitter.
"Justin's impact on this program in his one year here is genuinely impossible to put into words," coach Matt Hill said. "He knows me and my system, and I have a high level of trust in him because I've known him for so long. Even longer than I've known my assistant coaches."
Roberts played under Hill during his tenure at South Florida, advancing to the round of 16 during his freshman year in doubles. Aside from Hill, Roberts was also familiar with volunteer assistant coach Dominic Cotrone as the two posted an 8-2 record in doubles play during the 2015-16 season.
Hill coached the Bahamian for two seasons before leaving Tampa to take the reins of Sun Devil men's tennis, and Roberts played one more season as a Bull before deciding to transfer for his final season of eligibility.
"It's very difficult to put some kind of benchmark on how much impact Justin has had on this program because he's had a bigger impact than he even realizes, or probably that I even realize," Hill said. "He was a much-needed piece of the puzzle this year that I don't even think I knew at the time."
Aside from his leadership off the court, Roberts has performed on-court as well for the maroon and gold, currently riding a six-match win streak into his Senior Day. Roberts proved to be a valuable addition on the doubles court, posting 10 wins this season between two partners.
The Sun Devils as a team are also on a role as of late after posting a perfect 4-0 record last week over Delaware, No. 42 Oregon, Washington and GCU. The wins bring ASU over the .500 mark in both their overall and conference record as they begin to set their sights toward the postseason.
"It's exciting to see us moving in the right direction at the right time of year because it's something that we talk about all the time," Hill said. "It doesn't always happen that way, so it's amazing to see for sure."
For their efforts last week, the squad moved up one spot in the team ranking to 31 while Nathan Ponwith jumped nine spots to No. 62 and he and doubles partner Dominik Kellovsky moved up one spot to No. 8. Andrea Bolla/Tim Ruehl rounded out the Sun Devils in the newest rankings for the 15th-straight week, hitting the poll at No. 81.
"The guys have been going well, and we've had a really good month," Hill said. "We're starting to see them really work together as a group and it's been good to have them healthy and training more frequently."
While they excelled together as a doubles pair, Ponwith and Kellovsky have both been on hot streaks as singles players as well. Both went undefeated in four matches last week with Ponwith going 4-0 and Kellovsky going 3-0 after going unfinished against Ty Gentry of Oregon.
The wins secured both men four-match win streaks, with Ponwith taking victories in five of his last eight and Kellovsky six of his last nine.
"We knew they had that level in them, but to be peaking toward the end of the season is a testament of all the hard work they've been putting in," Hill said. "Having our top two courts perform well gives the team a lot of confidence because it doesn't matter where a team is ranked, their top players are always good."
Bolla has also performed as a singles player as of late, winning three of his last five matches including a quick 6-1, 6-1 victory in less than an hour over Delware. The Italian also clinched the Sun Devils' 4-1 win over GCU with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-0 victory.
"He's been playing the best tennis we've ever seen out of him evening dating back to the fall or last year," Hill said. "It's great to see him playing his best tennis, and I think we've going to see some big things out of him in the latter part of the season."
First serve with the Utes is set for 1 p.m. on Sat. April 13. Fans can keep up with the action all season-long by following @SunDevilMTennis on Twitter.