TEMPE, Ariz. – Graduate student Eric Fomba erased a 5-2 third-set deficit to pull out the win at the No. 4 spot and lift the No. 3 Stanford men's tennis team to a 4-3 victory over No. 20 Arizona State Thursday evening at Whiteman Tennis Center.
Stanford and Arizona State were tied at 3-3 with only the No. 4 singles match left to finish. Fomba and Arizona State's Tim Ruehl were locked in a tight battle throughout their match. The Cardinal graduate student took the first set, before Ruehl battled back to take the second set 7-6 (7) and took a 5-2 lead in the decisive third set. Fomba stormed back, taking the final five games to capture the win and the match for the Cardinal (11-1).
"It was a really great effort by Eric Fomba and the team," said Paul Goldstein, the Taube Family Director of Men's Tennis. "We knew this was going to be a major challenge. We have to give a lot of respect for Matt Hill and Arizona State. They are a class group and it's great to have them back in the Pac-12."
Stanford played from behind early on after dropping the doubles point. The Cardinal got straight-set wins from Tom Fawcett at the No. 1 spot and William Genesen at the No. 6 spot, and a three-set victory from Sameer Kumar at the No. 3 spot to pull ahead 3-1.
The Sun Devils (8-4) tied it back up with three-set wins at No. 5 and No. 2 to set up the dramatic finish.
Stanford now turns its attention to Arizona. The Cardinal will meet the Wildcats on Friday at 4 p.m. PT in Tucson, Arizona.
No. 3 Stanford 4, No. 20 Arizona State 3
Doubles
1. Michael Geerts/ Tim Ruehl (ASU) d. No. 58 Michael Genender/Sameer Kumar (STAN) 6-4
2. Makey Rakotomalala/ Andrea Bolla (ASU) d. No. 27 Tom Fawcett/Axel Geller (STAN) 6-2
3. Timothy Sah/David Wilczynski (STAN) d. Benjamin Hannestad/Thomas Wright (ASU) 6-3
Order of Finish: 3,2,1
Singles
1. No. 11 Tom Fawcett (STAN) d. No. 61 Michael Geerts (ASU) 6-2, 6-3
2. No. 51 Benjamin Hannestad (ASU) d. No. 36 Axel Geller (STAN) 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-5
3. No. 76 Sameer Kumar (STAN) d. No. 116 Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
4. No. 120 Eric Fomba (STAN) d. Tim Ruehl (ASU) 6-2, 6-7 (7), 7-5
5. Andrea Bolla (ASU) d. David Wilczynski (STAN) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
6. William Genesen (STAN) d. Thomas Wright (ASU) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 1,6,3,5,2,4
