April 7, 2000
TEMPE, Ariz. - Sixth-ranked Arizona State women's tennis fell to 34th-ranked Washington 5-4 this afternoon in Pac-10 action at Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe. The win drops the Sun Devils' overall record to 10-5 and evens their conference mark to 2-2 while the Huskies improve to 11-6, 3-2 in league action.
With injuries to 12th-ranked Allison Bradshaw and senior Kerry Giardino in the Sun Devil lineup, ASU was only able to field five players for today's match. The deficiency automatically defaulted wins to Washington at the No. 6 singles and the No. 3 doubles courts, giving the Huskies a 2-0 advantage before the contest even began.
The Sun Devils would have to win three of the five singles matches to keep alive a chance at victory. Washington took the first win by top-ranked Kristina Kraszewski over No. 28 Karin Palme on the first court but ASU countered with a win on court four by 61st-ranked Megan Yeats over No. 88 Zuzana Stunova. Yeats win marked her 12th straight and 17th of the last 18. Freshman Mhari Brown won on court three for the Lady Devils before teammate Fay DeVera fell on court two. Brown was taken to three sets for only the second time this season. Both occasions earned victories.
Junior Celena McCoury secured the first set for the home team 7-5 over Husky Colleen Gray. McCoury was then up 5-2 in the second-set tiebreaker before dropping the frame at 7-5. She took a 4-1 lead in the third but Gray came back to win five of the next six sets for a 6-5 lead. McCoury tied the set at six games and captured the match victory on her third match point for a 10-8 tiebreaker score. The match lasted 3 hours, 20 minutes.
Down 4-3 heading into doubles action, Brown and McCoury played together for the first time this season on court one an upset the 43rd-ranked team of Kraszewski and Klaic 8-3, but Palme and DeVera couldn't grab a must need doubles sweep, falling 8-4 to Kordonskaya and Wagner.
Arizona State will close out its home schedule vs. Pac-10 opponent Washington State tomorrow, Sat., April 8 at noon. The team will honor its lone senior on the squad, Kerry Giardino, who is currently sidelined with an ankle sprain.
No. 34 Washington 5 (11-6, 3-2)
No. 6 Arizona State 4 (10-5, 2-2)
Singles
1. (1) Kristina Kraszewski (WASH) def. (28) Karin Palme (ASU) 6-3, 6-4
2. Ilona Kordonskaya (WASH) def. Faye DeVera (ASU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
3. Mhairi Brown (ASU) def. Darija Klaic (WASH) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. (61) Megan Yeats (ASU) def. (88) Zuzana Stunova (WASH) 6-1, 2-6, 6-3
5. Celena McCoury (ASU) def. Colleen Gray (WASH) 7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (8)
6. Zeta Wagner (WASH) wins by default
Doubles
1. Brown/McCoury (ASU) def. (43) Kraszewski/Klaic (WASH) 8-3
2. Kordonskaya/Wagner (WASH) def. Palme/DeVera (ASU) 8-4
3. Gray/ Peggy Wu (WASH) win by default