April 13, 2012
TEMPE, Ariz. -
It started as a beautiful sunny morning in Tempe, Ariz., but as the clouds rolled in mid-afternoon so did the misfortune for the No. 30 nationally ranked Sun Devils.
"We knew it wasn't going to be easy, and it certainly wasn't," head coach Sheila McInerney said.
Arizona State opened the match in dramatic fashion, fighting back to win the doubles point after starting the afternoon off with a forfeit at the No. 3 court due to injury. The senior-freshman combination of Hannah James and Leighann Sahagun, who replaced injured sophomore Jacqueline Cako, defeated Danielle Flores and Natasha Smith of Utah 8-3.
After being down 4-1 at one point on the main court, the usually successful pairing of Michelle Brycki and Joanna Smith sprang back to defeat Anastasia Putilina and Callie Craig of Utah 8-6.
"I felt better after winning the doubles point, but you have know that you're still in battle," McInerney said.
But after that point, the Sun Devils luck took a turn for the worse. The only winning singles point came from freshman Leighann Sahagun at the No. 5 spot against Danielle Flores 6-1, 6-4.
"You have to be tough to win through the tops singles matches. We played a good team, and it's tough, plain and simple," McInerney said. "College athletics is tough, everybody you play is going to have some talent."
The Sun Devils came into the match carrying an injury riddled roster from the last two weekend road trips to California. At the top of that list was ninth-ranked Jacqueline Cako, followed by senior Sianna Simmons.
"It becomes very tricky for us playing with kids out," McInerney said. "It put a lot of pressure on the other team as well, and I give a lot of credit to Utah for how the played."
Senior Michelle Brycki replaced Cako at the No. 1 spot and ultimately fell in a tough three set match which saw Brycki open up with a solid 3-6 first set victory.
And within minutes of the match being over, Brycki had already shifted focus on the next ."Today was not a good day for me, I'll learn from it and then forget about it," Brycki said. "Hopefully I go out with a bang and finish on a good note tomorrow. It's going to be a good day."
Freshman Joanna Smith faced tough competition from Ute sophomore Callie Craig, falling 6-0, 6-3. And when accounting for the team injuries, Smith has shifted all across the roster peaking at the No. 2 spot last weekend against USC.
"I've been a little bit nervous -- playing six in the very beginning of the season, and then five for most the season. And then I moved up to three, and then two, and then three again, so it's been a little bit overwhelming, Smith said.
Utah came into the match standing at 9-9 overall, and with only one victory in Pac-12 play out of seven matches.
"Nobody is an easy out. We certainly had our chances, Michelle won her first set, Leighann played well, Joanna had a lot of opportunities." McInerney said.
The Sun Devils will host The University of Colorado tomorrow afternoon at 12 p.m. MST in Tempe, Ariz. The match up between the Sun Devils and the estranged conference foe will be the first of McInerney's career.
"We'll be ready for tomorrow. We don't have much margin for error when we are healty, and with the injuries that margin is now almost nothing," McInerney said.
No. 44 Utah 5 :: No. 30 Arizona State 2
Whiteman Tennis Center
Tempe, Arizona
4/13/12
1:30 p.m. PDT
DOUBLES
1) Michelle Brycki/Joanna Smith (ASU) def. Anastasia Putilina/Callie Craig (Utah) 8-6
2) Leighann Sahagun/Hannah James (ASU) def. Danielle Flores/Natasha Smith (Utah) 8-3
3) Utah wins by forfeit
Order of Finish: 3*, 2, 1
SINGLES
1) Anastasia Putilina(Utah) def. Michelle Brycki (ASU)3-6, 6-0, 6-1
2) Sarah Pham (Utah) def. Hannah James (ASU) 6-4, 6-3
3) Callie Craig (Utah) def. Joanna Smith (ASU) 6-0, 6-3
4) Leighann Sahagun (ASU) def. Danielle Flores (Utah) 6-1, 6-4
5) Natasha Smith (Utah) def. Clare Frye (ASU) 6-0, 6-1
6) Utah wins by forfeit
Order of Finish: 6*, 5, 3, 4, 1, 2