COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Arizona State women's tennis senior Desirae Krawczyk pulled the upset over No. 1-ranked Francesca Di Lorenzo of Ohio State on Sunday afternoon at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Krawczyk -- currently ranked No. 36 in singles -- won the first set, 7-6, with a 7-5 tiebreak win before Di Lorenzo forced a third and deciding set. The senior rallied to win the 10-point tiebreak 10-3, giving the No. 24 Sun Devils their only point of the match.
"It was not the result we wanted as a team, but I'm happy with my win today and I think I played up to my potential and I just have to keep working hard in practice to play the way I did today," Krawczyk said. "I think overall as a team we competed well and it'll only help us get better for the start of Pac-12 Conference next weekend."
As head coach Sheila McInerney said, she expected a similar match to the year prior, where ASU and the Buckeyes went toe-to-toe for five three-set matches. This time around, the dual went to four three-set matches and No. 2 OSU coming away with three of them to win match 6-1.
"I thought overall it was a super competitive match and unfortunately we came out on the short end of it," said McInerney. "Ohio State is a very good team and they don't make anything easy for you. They make you play at a high level and sustain it throughout the match.
"We did a lot of good things but needed to sustain a high level throughout every match and we didn't quite do that. A match like this will make us better moving forward."
In doubles, No. 32 Sandy Niehaus and Ferney Angeles Paz of Ohio State took the first victory of the day over Krawczyk and fellow senior Stephanie Vlad, 6-3.
Junior Kassidy Jump and freshman Sammi Hampton battled until the very end, while No. 30 Ebony Panoho and Alex Osborne of ASU were up on No. 4 Miho Kowase and Anna Sanford 6-5. Di Lorenzo and Olivia Sneed finished Jump and Hampton, 7-5, before Panoho and Osborne could finish the tiebreak.
In singles, the Buckeyes earned four-straight points before Krawczyk gave ASU its first point. Jump, Osborne and junior Gussie O'Sullivan all battled to three sets.
The Devils will have to regroup and turn the page quickly, as they host No. 1 California on Friday, March 4 at Whiteman Tennis Center at 1:30 p.m.
They'll then turn around and host No. 16 Stanford on Saturday, March 5 at Noon.
#2 The Ohio State University - 6, #24 Arizona State University - 1 Feb 28, 2016 Columbus, Ohio Varsity Tennis Center
Doubles
1. #4 Miho Kowase/Anna Sanford (OSU) vs. #30 Ebony Panoho/Alexandria Osborne (ASU) 5-6, unfinished
2. #32 Sandy Niehaus/Ferny Angeles Paz (OSU) def. Desirae Krawczyk/Stephanie Vlad (ASU) 6-3
3. Francesca Di Lorenzo/Olivia Sneed (OSU) def. Kassidy Jump/Gussie O'Sullivan (ASU) 7-5
Order of finish: 2, 3
Singles
1. #36 Desirae Krawczyk (ASU) def. #1 Francesca Di Lorenzo (OSU) 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 1-0 (10-3)
2. Anna Sanford (OSU) def. Kassidy Jump (ASU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
3. Miho Kowase (OSU) def. Ebony Panoho (ASU) 6-2, 6-4
4. Gabriella De Santis (OSU) def. Stephanie Vlad (ASU) 6-2, 6-4
5. Ferny Angeles Paz (OSU) def. Gussie O'Sullivan (ASU) 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-2)
6. #102 Olivia Sneed (OSU) def. Alexandria Osborne (ASU) 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3)
Order of finish: 3, 4, 2, 5, 1, 6