OJAI, Calif. -- Seniors Desirae Krawczyk and Ebony Panoho both have intentions of finishing their final year in the Pac-12 on a high note, as the two veterans won their first two matches on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinal round in the singles championship bracket of the Pac-12 Championships.
"Overall, it was a good day for the team, as we went 10-4 in singles, and Ebony and Des are in the quarterfinals," said head coach Sheila McInerney. "Everyone got two singles matches in, played well and competed hard. A long but productive day for us."
After cruising to victory over Utah's Brianna Turley 6-0, 6-0 in the round of 32, Panoho moved on to face 5-seed Taylor Davidson from Stanford, who is currently ranked No. 40 in the country. While Davidson started hot out of the gate, Panoho bounced back and won the first set 6-4. The Australian senior rolled that momentum into the second set and forced the upset in straight sets with a 6-3 victory in the second.
"Davidson is a great player, so I knew going into the match that I was going to have my work cut out for me," said Panoho. "I felt good going into the match. She hits a really nice ball, so it was key for me to hit deep and not give much away. I actually got down 2-0 in the first set, but was able to work my way back. I just played a really solid match and tried to give her a few of my forehands, as that seemed to be working for me.
"I'm really excited to be in the quarterfinals. It's my last time playing in Ojai, so I will be going out there tomorrow and leaving everything I have out there on the court."
Panoho will face USC's Giuliana Olmos, who is ranked No. 24 in the country, on Friday at 12 p.m. PT.
As the 8-seed, Krawczyk moved through the first two rounds almost identically to her senior teammate. Her first match ended in a 6-4, 6-4 victory over UCLA's Alaina Miller, creating a match-up with Arizona No. 2 Shayne Austin in the round of 16. She would have no problem with the Wildcat, sweeping the match in straight sets 6-2, 6-0.
"Des was super solid and gets a chance to play Maegan Manasse from Cal, who is the top seed in the tournament," said McInerney.
No. 28 Krawczyk's match with Manasse, who is currently ranked No. 11 in the country, will arguably be the match to watch in the quarterfinals as two of the best players in the conference. The two met in the dual match on March 4 with the Cal junior holding the upper hand 6-3, 7-5. Krawczyk and Manasse will do battle on Friday afternoon at 12 p.m. PT.
The two victories by Krawczyk on Thursday make for her 96th and 97th victories in her four-year ASU career.
Also in the championship bracket was junior Kassidy Jump -- ranked No. 119 in the country -- who defeated Utah's Sarah Richter in the first round and for the second time this season. After the 6-1, 6-1 victory, Jump drew a tough match with 3-seed Catherine Harrison of UCLA, who is ranked No. 17 in the country. Jump started off hot, taking a 5-3 lead over Harrison in the first set. However, the UCLA senior rallied to a 7-5 comeback win in the first and then a 6-2 victory in the second, eliminating Jump in the round of 16.
Over in the invitational bracket, senior Stephanie Vlad, freshman Sammi Hampton, and juniors Gussie O'Sullivan and Alex Osborne all advanced through the first round with straight-set victories. O'Sullivan would be the only one of the four to win the second round match, coming back from a first-set loss to defeat Washington's Tami Grende 6-3, 6-0 in the second and third.
O'Sullivan will play her match on Friday afternoon at 12 p.m. PT.
Friday also begins the doubles' championship and invitational brackets.
No. 22 Panoho and Osborne will face Colorado's Jeannez Daniel and Nuria Ormeno Ruiz at 9 a.m. PT. If they win, they will advance to play the winner of 1-seed Maegan Manasse and Denise Starr of Cal at 2 p.m. PT, making it a hectic day for Panoho.
Senior duo of Krawczyk and Vlad are also in the championship side of the bracket, taking on Washington's Nour Abbes and Maki Kobayashi -- ranked No. 34 in the country -- at 10:15 a.m.
Hampton and Jump were given the 2-seed in the invitational bracket and will take on Utah's Taylor Calton and Luisa Rosa at 10:15 a.m. PT.
Pac-12 Championships Ojai Valley Athletic Club Ojai, Calif. April 21-24 SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET Round of 32#8 Desirae Krawczyk (ASU) def. Alaina Miller (UCLA) - 6-4, 6-4 Ebony Panoho (ASU) def. Brianna Turley (UTAH) - 6-0, 6-0 Kassidy Jump (ASU) def. Sarah Richter (UTAH) - 6-1, 6-1 Round of 16 #8 Desirae Krawczyk (ASU) def. Shayne Austin (UA) - 6-2, 6-0 Ebony Panoho (ASU) def. #5 Taylor Davidson (STA) - 6-4, 6-3 #3 Catherine Harrison (UCLA) def. Kassidy Jump (ASU) - 7-5, 6-2 SINGLES INVITATIONAL BRACKET Round of 32 Stephanie Vlad (ASU) def. Kyra Wojcik (COL) - 6-0, 6-1 Gussie O'Sullivan (ASU) def. Victoria Matejevic (WSU) - 6-4, 7-5 Alex Osborne (ASU) def. Aneta Miksovska (WSU) - 6-4, 7-5 Sammi Hampton (ASU) def. Taylor Calton (UTAH) - 6-3, 6-4 Round of 16 Gussie O'Sullivan (ASU) def. Tami Grende (UW) - 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 Caroline Lampl (STA) def. Stephanie Vlad (ASU) - 6-1, 6-4 Melissa Lord (STA) def. Sammi Hampton (ASU) - 6-2, 7-5 Olivia Hauger (CAL) def. Alex Osborne (ASU) - 6-3, 6-1