TEMPE – Sun Devil Women's Tennis returns home after two weekends away, hosting TCU and No. 27 Baylor in their final home series of the season. The dual against the Horned Frogs will commence at 4 p.m. AZT and then on Sunday against the Bears will begin at 12 p.m.
Sunday's duel will also be Senior Day for Patricija Spaka. The senior from Latvia holds a 7-3 record this season in singles and a 10-4 record in doubles. Spaka has competed at ASU her entire collegiate career with 129 wins across singles and doubles combined. She has 70 wins in doubles, racking up three NCAA Doubles tournament appearances.
Admission is free at Whiteman Tennis Center and live stats are available on Sidearm with updates being on the team's social media handles at @SunDevilWTennis on Instagram and Twitter/X.
Sun Devil Outlook:
No. 38 Arizona State (11-6, 6-3 Big 12)
No. 37 TCU (12-7, 7-3 Big 12)
Last Time Out:
The Sun Devils fell 4-3 to No. 38 Arizona over the weekend, their first loss in almost ten years. Emilija Tverijonaite picked up wins in both singles and doubles, the only Sun Devil to do so. She also improved her doubles record to 8-6 and her singles record to 9-4. Sara Svetac and Lily Taylor also picked up singles wins.
IN THE RANKINGS:
The Sun Devils boast two players in the top 50 in the latest ITA Rankings as April 1. Tverijonaite is ranked 42nd in the country after an NCAA tournament appearance and is currently 10-4 on the year. Sara Svetac entered the top-50 at the end of the fall and is currently No. 43. The Sun Devils are one of two teams (Oklahoma State) in the Big 12 to have at least two singles players ranked in the top 50 in the ITA rankings.
The Sun Devil doubles pairs, Spaka and Taylor are No. 52 in the country after winning 10 of the last 14 double's matches.
MAGNIFICENT MILLIE:
Emilija Tverijonaite became the first Sun Devil to qualify for the NCAA Singles tournament since 2021 and went 12-2 during the fall season. The sophomore leads the team in singles wins at a 10-4 mark and helped clinch the win over Cincinnati and has back-to-back three set wins over Kansas State and Arizona. She is currently ranked No. 42 in the ITA rankings and has won four of the last five doubles matches.
Tverijonaite is one of two Sun Devils with five singles wins on the team and owns a 5-2 record from the #1 spot. This season, she set a career high with 22 singles wins after posting 21 victories her freshman season. So far as a Sun Devil she has a 43-13 record.
SUPER SARA:
The Sophomore is currently 9-3 this season and has split time between the #1 and #2 spots in singles. She has a 5-1 record from the #2 spot this spring. Svetac was named Big 12 Player of the Week and earned a top-15 victory over Savannah Broadus of Pepperdine on Feb. 1. Svetac came off a successful fall season where she went 8-4 and is also 7-3 in doubles when paired with Karin Altori.
The Croatian has had a successful sophomore campaign, earning a top-50 ranking in singles. She's coming off a ranked victory over Arizona's Josie Usereau for her second ranked win of the year.
SPARKY ON TOP:
The senior is currently 7-3 in singles after playing from the #3 spot this season. Additionally, she has won ten of her first 11 matches in doubles and racked up a 10-2 record in doubles alongside partner Lily Taylor. From Latvia, she currently sits at 59 career wins in singles and recently notched her 70th career double win. The duo aims to rebound this week as Spaka has 129 wins as a Sun Devil between singles and doubles matches combined in her four years.
Spaka will be honored before the match Sunday as the senior has made the NCAA Doubles tournament three times in her tenure, including a round of 16 appearance as a sophomore.
NEW CONFERENCE, WHO THIS?
The Sun Devils were picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 Conference in the preseason poll announced on Jan. 7. The maroon and gold also picked up a first-place vote. Prior to joining the Big 12, the Sun Devils boasted a 24-11 record against Big 12 opponents.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The team will embark on its final road trip of the regular season, facing Texas Tech on Friday, March 13 at 3 p.m. AZT and then face Colorado on Sunday at 1 p.m. AZT.
HOW TO FOLLOW:
Continue to follow Sun Devil Women's Tennis on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook for all the latest coverage this season. Fans can follow on live stats which can be found here.
Sunday's duel will also be Senior Day for Patricija Spaka. The senior from Latvia holds a 7-3 record this season in singles and a 10-4 record in doubles. Spaka has competed at ASU her entire collegiate career with 129 wins across singles and doubles combined. She has 70 wins in doubles, racking up three NCAA Doubles tournament appearances.
Admission is free at Whiteman Tennis Center and live stats are available on Sidearm with updates being on the team's social media handles at @SunDevilWTennis on Instagram and Twitter/X.
Sun Devil Outlook:
No. 38 Arizona State (11-6, 6-3 Big 12)
- The Sun Devils return back home with an 8-0 record at Whiteman Tennis Center. Two wins this weekend would be the second undefeated season at home in three years.
- The 2023 spring season saw the team go 15-0 at Whiteman Tennis Center.
- Emilija Tverijonaite won both of her matches last weekend in singles and doubles. The sophomore competed at the #2 spot in singles, winning 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 for her second-straight three-set victory. She also won her doubles match at the No. 3 pair with Aiya Nupbay 6-2.
- Tverijonaite set a career high in wins with 22 in singles play. She now has a 43-13 record in singles.
- Sara Svetac and Lily Taylor each picked up singles wins over Arizona's No. 1 and 4 singles, respectively.
- Svetac and Taylor competed together at the No. 2 pair for the first time this season. Previously, Taylor was paired with Spaka, and the duo posted a 10-3 record. Svetac was paired with Karin Altori, and the two were 9-5 as a pair.
- Svetac has won her last three singles matches. Both Tverijonaite and Taylor have two-match win streaks going into the weekend
- The team has shown success at the #2 spot, going 11-3 during the season.
- Taylor and Tverijonaite are tied for the most conference wins on the team with six apiece, each going 6-2.
No. 37 TCU (12-7, 7-3 Big 12)
- The Horned Frogs split their weekend series, losing to No. 26 Oklahoma State and beating Kansas State.
- Yu-Chin Tsai leads the team with 11 wins, seven of them coming from the #4 spot.
- Maya Deozd is currently on a five-match winning streak and boasts a 6-2 record on the #6 spot.
- The top double's pair is ranked #25 in the country, Jade Otway and Isabel Pascual have a 23-12 record this year and are 9-6 in duals.
- TCU went 12-9 in 2024, with a 7-6 mark in Big 12 play. The squad lost in the first round of the Big 12 Championship to K-State.
- The Sun Devils hold a 2-0 record over the Horned Frogs all-time. The first matchup came in 1992, while the most recent happened in 2018.
- Baylor picked up a 4-0 win over K-State before falling to No. 26 Oklahoma State 0-4 over the weekend.
- Baylor's Na Dong, is ranked No. 108 in the latest ITA rankings and has a 19-3 record. She is unbeaten from the #4 spot and is on a nine-match winning streak and is a perfect 6-0 in Big 12 play.
- Baylor has three players with 10+ wins this spring season.
- Liubov Kostenko and Cristina Tiglea are ranked No. 43 in the ITA Double's rankings and have a 9-3 dual record this season, all playing from the #1 spot.They're currently on a seven-match winning streak.
- The Bears were 17-13 in 2024, posting a 7-6 record in the Big 12. The team fell to Oklahoma in the second round of the 2024 Big 12 Championship, then lost to LSU in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
- ASU is 1-2 against Baylor all-time, with the most recent meeting happening last season. The Bears took the match 4-2 in Waco.
Last Time Out:
The Sun Devils fell 4-3 to No. 38 Arizona over the weekend, their first loss in almost ten years. Emilija Tverijonaite picked up wins in both singles and doubles, the only Sun Devil to do so. She also improved her doubles record to 8-6 and her singles record to 9-4. Sara Svetac and Lily Taylor also picked up singles wins.
IN THE RANKINGS:
The Sun Devils boast two players in the top 50 in the latest ITA Rankings as April 1. Tverijonaite is ranked 42nd in the country after an NCAA tournament appearance and is currently 10-4 on the year. Sara Svetac entered the top-50 at the end of the fall and is currently No. 43. The Sun Devils are one of two teams (Oklahoma State) in the Big 12 to have at least two singles players ranked in the top 50 in the ITA rankings.
The Sun Devil doubles pairs, Spaka and Taylor are No. 52 in the country after winning 10 of the last 14 double's matches.
MAGNIFICENT MILLIE:
Emilija Tverijonaite became the first Sun Devil to qualify for the NCAA Singles tournament since 2021 and went 12-2 during the fall season. The sophomore leads the team in singles wins at a 10-4 mark and helped clinch the win over Cincinnati and has back-to-back three set wins over Kansas State and Arizona. She is currently ranked No. 42 in the ITA rankings and has won four of the last five doubles matches.
Tverijonaite is one of two Sun Devils with five singles wins on the team and owns a 5-2 record from the #1 spot. This season, she set a career high with 22 singles wins after posting 21 victories her freshman season. So far as a Sun Devil she has a 43-13 record.
SUPER SARA:
The Sophomore is currently 9-3 this season and has split time between the #1 and #2 spots in singles. She has a 5-1 record from the #2 spot this spring. Svetac was named Big 12 Player of the Week and earned a top-15 victory over Savannah Broadus of Pepperdine on Feb. 1. Svetac came off a successful fall season where she went 8-4 and is also 7-3 in doubles when paired with Karin Altori.
The Croatian has had a successful sophomore campaign, earning a top-50 ranking in singles. She's coming off a ranked victory over Arizona's Josie Usereau for her second ranked win of the year.
SPARKY ON TOP:
The senior is currently 7-3 in singles after playing from the #3 spot this season. Additionally, she has won ten of her first 11 matches in doubles and racked up a 10-2 record in doubles alongside partner Lily Taylor. From Latvia, she currently sits at 59 career wins in singles and recently notched her 70th career double win. The duo aims to rebound this week as Spaka has 129 wins as a Sun Devil between singles and doubles matches combined in her four years.
Spaka will be honored before the match Sunday as the senior has made the NCAA Doubles tournament three times in her tenure, including a round of 16 appearance as a sophomore.
NEW CONFERENCE, WHO THIS?
The Sun Devils were picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 Conference in the preseason poll announced on Jan. 7. The maroon and gold also picked up a first-place vote. Prior to joining the Big 12, the Sun Devils boasted a 24-11 record against Big 12 opponents.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The team will embark on its final road trip of the regular season, facing Texas Tech on Friday, March 13 at 3 p.m. AZT and then face Colorado on Sunday at 1 p.m. AZT.
HOW TO FOLLOW:
Continue to follow Sun Devil Women's Tennis on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook for all the latest coverage this season. Fans can follow on live stats which can be found here.