March 3, 2012
TEMPE, Ariz. -
On the back half of a two match weekend, the No. 37 Arizona State Sun Devils women's tennis team defeated No. 20 Saint Mary's of California on Saturday afternoon at the Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe, Ariz.
"I just thought we competed very well to be honest with you, we knew Saint Mary's was a really good team. They've had some good wins, and they were ranked ahead of us coming into today," head coach Sheila McInerney said.
Led by strong performances at the No. 1 and No. 3 spots by seventh ranked Jacqueline Cako and Sianna Simmons respectively, ASU was able to split the singles match points three and three.
"If they can get off fast it really takes a little bit of pressure of off everyone else," McInerney said.
The Sun Devils also started off with a strong performance at doubles earlier in the day.
"We won the doubles fairly handidly, but we knew that they would be better at their singles then at their doubles. They competed really well, but I think that our kids just competed great," McInerney said.
After going up 3-0, Saint Mary's battled back winning at the No. 6 and No. 2 spots to make it 3-2. More then midway through the afternoon, both teams had lined up adjacent to the No. 5 court to watch freshman Joanna Smith of ASU against Catherine Leduc of Saint Mary's.
Fortunately for ASU, Smith propelled her way through the third set clinching the match for Arizona State -- her second time doing so this season.
"It was great and I didn't know what the score of the match was. So I had no idea I clinched it until after when Sheila was like you clinched the match so I was really excited. It feels really good just being able to pull it through for the team," Joanna Smith said.
"I think I competed really well, the match especially there in the third set it went up and down for me. But, I'm really proud of how I competed out there because it came down to who wanted it more -- and I did," Smith said.
Coach McInerney sees the already tapped potential in the young player who is gaining competitive experience left and right.
"For Joanna to clinch it like she did after loosing her first set, then was up 3-0 in the third, then was down 4-3, and then came back to win it 6-4. Hats off to Joanna, she has worked really hard these past few months," McInerney said.
The Sun Devils move to 8-2 almost midway through the season, and will take some time off before heading north to take on Washington State on March 18th.
"We have a very little margin for error, and overall I'm really happy with the way we performed today," McInerney said.
Arizona State 4 :: Saint Mary's College 3
Whiteman Tennis Center
Tempe, Arizona
3/3/12
12:00 p.m. MT
Doubles
1. Catherine Isip/Elizabeth Searl (SMC) def. Jacqueline Cako/Hannah James (ASU) 6-6 (ret.)
2. Michelle Brycki/Joanna Smith (ASU) def. Jenny Jullien/Catherine Leduc (SMC) 8-3
3. Sianna Simmons/Leighann Sahagun (ASU) def. Carla Lindlar/Jade Frampton (SMC) 8-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1. Jacqueline Cako (ASU) def. Catherine Isip (SMC) 6-0, 6-2
2. Jenny Jullien (SMC) def. Michelle Brycki (ASU) 6-4, 7-5
3. Sianna Simmons (ASU) def. Jade Frampton (SMC) 6-4, 6-3
4. Anna Chkhikvishvili (SMC) def. Hannah James (ASU) 2-6, 7-6 (4) (ret.)
5. Joanna Smith (ASU) def. Catherine Leduc (SMC) 3-6, 6-0, 6-4
6. Carla Lindlar (SMC) def. Leighann Sahagun (ASU) 6-4, 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 6, 2, 5, 4