SAN DIEGO – No. 10 San Diego men's tennis started a weekend hosting a pair of ranked Grand Canyon State foes with a narrow 3-4 loss against undefeated No. 24 Arizona State.
 
This Friday's match against ASU had revenge written all over it, as the Sun Devil's 4-2 victory last Friday – also at Hogan Tennis Center – pushed them into the top-25 rankings and eliminated the Toreros from ITA Indoor Nationals qualification. Head coach Ryan Keckley, in his 17-year career, has only ever faced off against the same opponent in back-to-back weekends one other time in his career, also against Arizona State in 2023, and knew what it would take to pull of a split.
 
The Toreros got out ahead in the right direction in doubles play with the Dutch pairing of Stian Klaassen and Manvydas Balciunas who propelled their dominating set with an early break point, finishing first on court three. 
 
On court two, senior Oliver Tarvet and freshman Vincent Marysko clinched the doubles point as the pair won 6-3 in command to give USD the lead.
 
In singles play, Tarvet gave USD a 2-0 lead with a pair of 6-2 sets on center court against Bor Artnak, whom he beat earlier in the day in doubles as well as last week by retirement. 
 
Like a week prior, Arizona State bounced back and made the score two apiece with wins on courts six and two. 
 
Balciunas answered back on court four, giving USD the lead at 3-2, winning his first set 6-4 before improving to a 6-2 second set, seeing the sophomore get a crucial team point. 
 
At No. 5 singles, sophomore Adrien Berrut put up a strong fight in his match, dropping the first set 1-6 before persevering to win the second set 6-3 but ultimately losing the decisive set 5-7.
 
It then all came down to court three, where the All-American Klaassen, up 5-2 in the third set, was in control of whether San Diego would avenge its loss or not. 
 
Klaassen won his first set in dominant 6-1 fashion, then lost a tight second set 4-6. After being up 5-2 in the third set, his Sun Devil counterpart fought off the threat to even the score at 5-5. Klaassen finally got a game back and went ahead again at 6-5, but once more, his opponent had a response. ASU's Mathis Bondaz rode the momentum to a 7-4 tiebreaker to clinch the match at 4-3 for Arizona State.
 
Up Next
San Diego will look to rebound and open the new month facing off against the 17th-ranked Arizona Wildcats on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 2 p.m. at Hogan Tennis Center.
 
Results
#10 San Diego 3, #24 Arizona State 4
 
Doubles
1. #71 Adrien Berrut/Lambert Ruland (USD) vs. Shu Matsuoka/Nilels Villard (ASU) 5-5, unfinished
2. Vincent Marysko/Oliver Tarvet (USD) def. Jelani Sarr/Bor Artnak (ASU) 6-3
3. Stian Klaassen/Manvydas Balciunas (USD) def. Roi Ginat/Milos Mikovic (ASU) 6-1
 
Singles
1. Oliver Tarvet (USD) def. Bor Artnak (ASU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Ofek Shimanov (ASU) def. Vincent Marysko (USD) 6-4, 6-4
3. Mathis Bondaz (ASU) def. Stian Klaassen (USD) 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
4. Manvydas Balciunas (USD) def. Shu Matsuoka (ASU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Nilels Villard (ASU) def. Adrien Berrut (USD) 6-1, 3-6, 7-5
6. Jelani Sarr (ASU) def. Lambert Ruland (USD) 6-1, 6-4
 
Match Notes:
Arizona State 9-0; National ranking #24
San Diego 3-2; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (1,6,2,4,5,3)