April 11, 2001
ON TAP: Fourteenth-ranked Arizona State (15-4, 6-4) will take on top-ranked Stanford (20-0, 7-0) and No. 6 California (13-3, 3-2) this weekend. The Devils will host the No. 1 Cardinal at 1:30 p.m. (MST) on Friday and the Golden Bears at 12:00 p.m. (MST) on Saturday in Tempe at the Whiteman Tennis Center.
KEEP IT ROLLIN': ASU remains undefeated at home (12-0), and has defeated nine of its twelve home foes by a 7-0 sweep. The Devils are coming off an impressive win on Tuesday over No. 11 Texas to finish out their regular season non-conference outing undefeated (9-0). The Devils will look to extend their unbeaten home winning streak against Stanford and Cal before they finish the regular season against Arizona next Saturday. Earlier in March, the Devils fell to Cal, 4-3, and then to Stanford the day after, 6-1.
WORTH WATCHING: ASU sophomore Adria Engel, currently ranked No. 12, leads the Devils' attack this season. Recently, she has defeated No. 14 Sara Walker from UCLA, No. 20 Jewel Peterson from USC, Washington State's No. 34 Erica Perkins, No. 8 Kristina Kraszewski from Washington, and Texas' No. 34 Vladka Uhlirova. Engel, the 2000 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, is currently 16-3 for the Devils on the No. 1 court, having won 15 of her last 16 dual matches. She was also named ITA's National Rookie of the Year before transferring to Arizona State from Wake Forest. ASU's hard-hitting trio of Faye DeVera, Mhairi Brown, and Cindy Sureephong hold a 44-6 (.880) combined dual record on courts Nos. 4, 5, and 6. Stanford boasts five players nationally ranked by the ITA, including No. 1 Laura Granville, No. 7 Lauren Kalvaria, and No. 20 Gabriela Lastra. Sophomore Laura Granville has earned a 33-1 overall record, while Kalvaria and Lastra have a 55-8 combined overall record. Senior Anita Kurimay, currently ranked No. 45, will look to lead the Golden Bears with No. 16 doubles pair Nicole Havlicek and Jieun Jacobs.
HEAD COACH SHEILA MCINERNEY: In her 17th season as head coach of the Sun Devils, the former USC All-American currently ranks second in ASU school history with 270 wins. McInerney has coached 14 different All-Americans and has guided the Sun Devils to NCAA tournament play each of the past 13 seasons. With the help of three All-Americans last season, McInerney and her squad reached the quarterfinals in the NCAA tournament after knocking off Duke University in the round of 16.
IN THE RANKINGS: Five ASU players are currently listed in the nation's top rankings by the ITA. In singles action, No. 12-ranked Adria Engel is accompanied by No. 63-ranked teammate Megan Yeats and No. 88-ranked Mhairi Brown. Engel has earned a 16-3 record on the No. 1 court, and Yeats (21-9) has posted a 13-6 record on the No. 3 court thus far. As a doubles team, the Adria Engel/Karin Palme tandem posts a No. 41 ranking, and the Mhairi Brown/Celena McCoury combo ranks No. 28.