TEMPE, Ariz. – If you enjoy watching two heavyweights go toe-to-toe, then Whiteman Tennis Center is where you want to be on Friday and Sunday afternoon.
The No. 35 Sun Devil women's tennis team hosts No. 9 Pepperdine (4-3) on Friday at 1:30 p.m. PST, followed by No. 2 Ohio State (11-1) on Sunday at 11 a.m. PST.
"These are two really good teams and we get to play them at home, which is great," said head coach Sheila McInerney. "We saw both of them last year, and they're arguably better than they were a year ago. We're going to have to play very well no question. Pepperdine and Ohio State are two of best competitive teams from top to bottom. Until you win that last point and shake hands, they're still alive. We're going to have to match them tooth and nail."
ASU (5-1) is familiar with many of the faces on each roster, as the Devils have played the Waves each of the last five years and the Buckeyes the last two. Last year, McInerney's squad pushed then-No. 17 Pepperdine to the limit on Feb. 15, 2016, dropping a nail-biter 4-3. The last time her squad defeated Pepperdine was on Feb. 23, 2013 in a 5-2 win.
In that match, eventual Pac-12 doubles champions Alex Osborne – now a senior – and Ebony Panoho – now a graduate assistant – upset then-No. 3 Matea Cutura and Christine Maddox, 6-4. The Waves rallied in singles after losing the doubles point, winning their matches on courts 1-4. Sophomore Sammi Hampton and senior Gussie O'Sullivan were the only two to win their respective matches on courts 5-6.
This year, Osborne and new partner Nicole Fossa-Huergo will face Maddox and her new partner, Mayar Sherif Ahmed – a transfer from Fresno State. Maddox and Sherif Ahmed are currently ranked No. 2 in the country, presenting another upset opportunity for No. 36 Osborne and Fossa-Huergo.
On court two, the Waves boast another ranked duo in Luisa Stefani and Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai at No. 37. Junior Kelley Anderson and freshman Savannah Slaysman, who were both previously ranked, thus will have another opportunity to defeat a ranked opponent. Their match against No. 23 Sarah Dvorak and Sabrina Federici of Texas Tech went unfinished, while they lost to No. 1 Kate Fahey and Alex Najarian of Michigan, 6-3, on Jan. 16.
"Pepperdine on paper is probably the best doubles team we've played this year," said McInerney. "We're going to have to match their firepower."
In singles, Pepperdine is represented by four players in the top-60 and three in the top-25.
No. 6 Luisa Stefani, No. 25 Ashley Lahey, No. 17 Mayar Sherif Ahmed and No. 51 Laura Gulbe line up on courts one through four for the Waves in that order.
The Devils boast two ranked players in singles, with No. 79 Kassidy Jump on court one and No. 72 Sammi Hampton on court two.
Jump holds a 7-13 record all-time versus ranked opponents and 1-2 against those in the top-25. Hampton is 6-8 against ranked opponents and 0-4 versus any in the top-25.
The Waves are 2-2 in their last foru match-ups, which goes back into the ITA National Team Indoor Championships where they lost to No. 18 Georgia, 4-1, and to No. 8 Texas Tech, 4-0. The Devils played the Red Raiders to a 4-3 loss on Jan. 29.
Looking into Sunday's match, the last time the Devils defeated Ohio State in their three total meetings was on March 24, 1990.
Last year, ASU dropped their match against the Buckeyes, who were also ranked No. 2, by a score of 6-1.
Their top singles player, Francesca Di Lorenzo, is also ranked No. 1 again as she was last year when former Devil Desirae Krawczyk upset her in Columbus.
All six of the Buckeye starters in singles are ranked in the top-120 of the ITA rankings, including No. 53 Anna Sanford, No. 57 Gabriella De Santis, No. 42 Miho Kowase, No. 84 Sandy Niehaus and No. 120 Ferny Angeles Paz. Even their No. 7 – Olivia Sneed – is ranked at No. 117.
Every player except for Niehaus was in the lineup against the Devils a season ago, with Krawczyk earning the only win of the entire match. However, four of the six singles matches went into a third set, which included court one.
That match-up a season ago also went on without Hampton, who is now on court two.
The Buckeyes top two doubles pairs are also ranked by the ITA, with Di Lorenzo and Kowase at No. 26 and De Santis and Niehaus at No. 47.
OSU is on a four-match winning streak currently with their last and only loss this season coming in the ITA Team Indoor Championship semi-final match against No. 3 North Carolina, 4-3.
The No. 35 Sun Devil women's tennis team hosts No. 9 Pepperdine (4-3) on Friday at 1:30 p.m. PST, followed by No. 2 Ohio State (11-1) on Sunday at 11 a.m. PST.
"These are two really good teams and we get to play them at home, which is great," said head coach Sheila McInerney. "We saw both of them last year, and they're arguably better than they were a year ago. We're going to have to play very well no question. Pepperdine and Ohio State are two of best competitive teams from top to bottom. Until you win that last point and shake hands, they're still alive. We're going to have to match them tooth and nail."
ASU (5-1) is familiar with many of the faces on each roster, as the Devils have played the Waves each of the last five years and the Buckeyes the last two. Last year, McInerney's squad pushed then-No. 17 Pepperdine to the limit on Feb. 15, 2016, dropping a nail-biter 4-3. The last time her squad defeated Pepperdine was on Feb. 23, 2013 in a 5-2 win.
In that match, eventual Pac-12 doubles champions Alex Osborne – now a senior – and Ebony Panoho – now a graduate assistant – upset then-No. 3 Matea Cutura and Christine Maddox, 6-4. The Waves rallied in singles after losing the doubles point, winning their matches on courts 1-4. Sophomore Sammi Hampton and senior Gussie O'Sullivan were the only two to win their respective matches on courts 5-6.
This year, Osborne and new partner Nicole Fossa-Huergo will face Maddox and her new partner, Mayar Sherif Ahmed – a transfer from Fresno State. Maddox and Sherif Ahmed are currently ranked No. 2 in the country, presenting another upset opportunity for No. 36 Osborne and Fossa-Huergo.
On court two, the Waves boast another ranked duo in Luisa Stefani and Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai at No. 37. Junior Kelley Anderson and freshman Savannah Slaysman, who were both previously ranked, thus will have another opportunity to defeat a ranked opponent. Their match against No. 23 Sarah Dvorak and Sabrina Federici of Texas Tech went unfinished, while they lost to No. 1 Kate Fahey and Alex Najarian of Michigan, 6-3, on Jan. 16.
"Pepperdine on paper is probably the best doubles team we've played this year," said McInerney. "We're going to have to match their firepower."
In singles, Pepperdine is represented by four players in the top-60 and three in the top-25.
No. 6 Luisa Stefani, No. 25 Ashley Lahey, No. 17 Mayar Sherif Ahmed and No. 51 Laura Gulbe line up on courts one through four for the Waves in that order.
The Devils boast two ranked players in singles, with No. 79 Kassidy Jump on court one and No. 72 Sammi Hampton on court two.
Jump holds a 7-13 record all-time versus ranked opponents and 1-2 against those in the top-25. Hampton is 6-8 against ranked opponents and 0-4 versus any in the top-25.
The Waves are 2-2 in their last foru match-ups, which goes back into the ITA National Team Indoor Championships where they lost to No. 18 Georgia, 4-1, and to No. 8 Texas Tech, 4-0. The Devils played the Red Raiders to a 4-3 loss on Jan. 29.
Looking into Sunday's match, the last time the Devils defeated Ohio State in their three total meetings was on March 24, 1990.
Last year, ASU dropped their match against the Buckeyes, who were also ranked No. 2, by a score of 6-1.
Their top singles player, Francesca Di Lorenzo, is also ranked No. 1 again as she was last year when former Devil Desirae Krawczyk upset her in Columbus.
All six of the Buckeye starters in singles are ranked in the top-120 of the ITA rankings, including No. 53 Anna Sanford, No. 57 Gabriella De Santis, No. 42 Miho Kowase, No. 84 Sandy Niehaus and No. 120 Ferny Angeles Paz. Even their No. 7 – Olivia Sneed – is ranked at No. 117.
Every player except for Niehaus was in the lineup against the Devils a season ago, with Krawczyk earning the only win of the entire match. However, four of the six singles matches went into a third set, which included court one.
That match-up a season ago also went on without Hampton, who is now on court two.
The Buckeyes top two doubles pairs are also ranked by the ITA, with Di Lorenzo and Kowase at No. 26 and De Santis and Niehaus at No. 47.
OSU is on a four-match winning streak currently with their last and only loss this season coming in the ITA Team Indoor Championship semi-final match against No. 3 North Carolina, 4-3.