SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- The Arizona State women's tennis team continued to roll in Pac-12 play, as they defeated No. 63 Utah on the Pac-12 Network on Sunday afternoon to finish their two-game road trip undefeated.
It wasn't easy for the No. 26 Sun Devils (9-4, 3-1), but they battled to a 4-1 victory to snap the Utes (10-4, 1-1) five-game winning streak and continue their winning ways to three-straight.
"Never easy to win on the road in the Pac-12, so we are happy to come away with two wins," said head coach Sheila McInerney. "Doubles was a strength this weekend for us, particularly today against Utah, whose doubles have been quite good. Overall, we competed well in the singles both matches as it was a little tricky in the altitude."
Junior Kassidy Jump and her doubles partner Sammi Hampton -- currently ranked No. 69 -- had no problem moving to nine-straight wins as a pair since joining forces in the fall. They took the opening match 6-1 over Louisa Da Rosa and Taylor Calton on court three.
The senior combo of Desirae Krawczyk and Stephanie Vlad clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 victory over Sarah Richter and Alexia Petrovic, giving the Devils a 1-0 lead entering singles play.
After not being ranked in previous weeks, Jump, now ranked No. 54 in singles, continued to show why she's starting to make a splash in the polls. After a 6-2 opening set win, Jump found herself in some trouble in the second, even trailing at one point during the middle of the set. She found a second gear and rolled on to a 6-4 straight-set victory over Richter to move to 8-4 on the season.
Freshman Sammi Hampton moved to 10-1 after losing her first and only match of her freshman regular season just last week against Cal. She beat Calton on court five 6-3, 6-4.
While No. 23 Krawczyk battled back and forth with Margo Pletcher on court one throughout the afternoon, too many unforced errors resulted in the Utes only point of the afternoon. Pletcher took the match 6-2, 6-4 just minutes before the Devils fourth and final point.
Senior Ebony Panoho had a long, grinding two-set match with Utah freshman Brianna Turley. After nearly clinching the point and match at 6-4 in the final set, Turley evened it up and pushed the second and deciding set to a tiebreak point. Turley got off to a 3-0 lead over Panoho before the Australian turned it around and clinched with an 8-6 tiebreak win, making it 6-4, 7-6(8-6) in favor of Panoho. The win ended Turley's four-game winning streak in singles.
The Sun Devils won't be back in action until a week from Sunday, as they travel to the northwest to take on current-No. 36 Oregon in Eugene.
#26 Arizona State - 4, #63 Utah - 1Salt Lake City (Eccles Tennis Center) March 13, 2016
Doubles
1. Margo Pletcher/Brianna Turley (UTAHW) vs. Ebony Panoho/Alexandra Osborne (ASUW) 4-4, unfinished
2. Desirae Krawczyk/Stephanie Vlad (ASUW) def. Sarah Richter/Alexia Petrovic (UTAHW) 6-2
3. Sammi Hampton/Kassidy Jump (ASUW) def. Luisa Da Rosa/Taylor Calton (UTAHW) 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 2
Singles
1. Margo Pletcher (UTAHW) def. Desirae Krawczyk (ASUW) 6-2, 6-42. Kassidy Jump (ASUW) def. Sarah Richter (UTAHW) 6-2, 6-4
3. Ebony Panoho (ASUW) def. Brianna Turley (UTAHW) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)
4. Jena Cheng (UTAHW) vs. Stephanie Vlad (ASUW) 4-6, 6-2, 3-3, unfinished 5. Sammi Hampton (ASUW) def. Taylor Calton (UTAHW) 6-3, 6-4 6. Alexia Petrovic (UTAHW) vs. Gussie O'Sullivan (ASUW) 6-4, 1-6, 0-0, unfinished Order of Finish: 2, 5, 1, 3