By Shayne Dwyer, SDA Media Relations
TEMPE, Ariz. -- In a match that was much closer the final score indicated, the No. 24 Arizona State (6-1; Pac-12 0-0) women's tennis team defeated the Spartans of San Jose State by a final match score of 6-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe, Ariz.
"I thought San Jose State came out and played well, they were tough, very physical... I was impressed with their play overall," ASU head coach Sheila McInerney said. "But credit to our kids to sort of bounce back, come through and play pretty well at the end when they needed to."
Arizona State was able to capture the doubles point to start the day, winning on the number two and three courts in strong victories on both courts. Desirae Krawczyk and Kassidy Jump put away Leon Chao and Jessica Willett of San Jose State by a score of 6-1, while the pairing of Stephanie Vlad and Ebony Panoho followed up with their own win over Julianna Bacelar and Justine Deleval by a three game margin, 6-3.
Doubles play on court one was suspended when the doubles point was clinched, leaving the junior pairing of Joanna Smith and Leighann Sahagun walking off the court while trailing Marie Klocker and Gaelle Rey by three games, 2-5.
Following a stellar performance the day prior, Joanna Smith defeated Justine Veleval in two sets, 6-3, 6-3 to make the team score 2-0. Stephanie Vlad then topped Marie Klocker in an elongated two set match on the main court by a score of 6-4, 6-1.
"She (Klocker) was really competitive, she made me play a lot of long points and she was really physical. So it was important for me to stay up on the baseline and kind of make her uncomfortable by taking balls off the court," sophomore Stephanie Vlad said. "Her game was very frustrating for me because she definitely forced me to play a lot of balls."
After Ebony Panoho dropped her match on court No. 4, freshman Kassidy Jump sealed the deal for Arizona State with a huge win over Jessival Willett by a score of 4-6, 6-3 (10-2) on the No. 5 court.
From there both Desirae Krawczyk and Leighann Sahagun picked up wins over Gaelle Rey and Leon Chao respectively, with Krawczyk's match going to a third set tiebreak. After the completion of the match Krawczyk mentioned that although she was ranked higher than her opponent, her opponent had the better day despite the score.
"I want to say I played well and she (Chao) definitely played well...she played better throughout the match," Krawczyk said.
ASU will take on Pepperdine and UNLV next weekend in Malibu, Calif. before coming back home the following weekend to take on Nevada and San Diego.
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No. 24 Arizona State 6 :: San Jose State 1
Whiteman Tennis Center
Tempe, Arizona
2/2/14
Noon MST
DOUBLES
1. Joanna Smith/Leighann Sahagun (ASU) vs. Marie Klocker/Gaelle Rey (SJS) 2-5 DNF
2. Desirae Krawczyk/Kassidy Jump (ASU) def. Leon Chao/Jessica Willett (SJS) 6-1
3. Stephanie Vlad/Ebony Panoho (ASU) def. Julianna Bacelar/Justine Deleval (SJS) 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3
SINGLES
1. Stephanie Vlad (ASU) def. Marie Klocker (SJS) 6-4, 6-1
2. Desirae Kraczyk (ASU) def. Gaelle Rey (SJS) 6-2, 7-6 (5)
3. Leighann Sahagun (ASU) def. Leon Chao (SJS) 6-3, 7-5
4. Julianna Bacelar (SJS) def. Ebony Panoho (ASU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Kassidy Jump (ASU) def. Jessica Willett (SJS) 4-6, 6-3 (10-2)
6. Joanna Smith (ASU) def. Justine Veleval (SJS) 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish: 6, 1, 4, 5, 2, 3