TEMPE, Ariz. – The Arizona State women's tennis team were on the cusp of pulling off the upset over No. 9 Pepperdine on Friday afternoon at Whiteman Tennis Center, but the Waves (5-3) roared back for the 4-3 win over the Sun Devils (5-2).
While junior Kelley Anderson did capture an upset over No. 17 Mayar Sharif Ahmed on court three for her 11th-straight victory, the match came down to a third-set battle on courts one and two to decide the match.
"Anytime you lose 4-3 with a couple three-setters at the end, it's a tough loss," said head coach Sheila McInerney. "I told the team that we battled really well. Pepperdine is obviously a tough team, we lost a tough doubles point and still battled back. We were really tough in the singles and to our credit, I thought we played tough. You certainly never like to lose, but with that being said, I thought it was a great match."
For the first time this season, the No. 35 Sun Devils lost a doubles point, which came down to a thriller on court one in front of a raucous crowd.
No. 36 Alex Osborne and Nicole Fossa-Huergo were on the brink of pulling an upset over No. 3 Christine Maddox and Ahmed. There were a total of six lead changes in their match before the Pepperdine duo grinded it out in a tiebreak game to win 7-6(4). That clinched the doubles point for the early 1-0 lead for the Waves.
In singles, Pepperdine expanded their lead to 2-0 thanks to Dzina Milovanovic winning 6-2, 6-3 in straight sets over freshman Savannah Slaysman.
Then the momentum begun to swing in ASU's direction. After Anderson upset Ahmed on court three, the good karma moved next door to court four with junior Nicole Fossa-Huergo. After a back and forth battle through both sets against No. 51 Laura Gulbe, Fossa-Huergo fought to a 7-5, 6-3 sweep of her sets for an upset of her own.
Not minutes later, senior Gussie "The Grinder" O'Sullivan gave the Devils their first lead of the day, as she grinded back from a 5-2 deficit in the second set for the 7-5 win. ASU took the 3-2 lead with courts one and two left to determine the entire match.
No. 79 Kassidy Jump rolled through her first set against No. 6 Luisa Stefani, 6-1. The second got off to a good start with a 2-0 lead for Jump, but Stefani appeared to flip a switch. She captured four straight points to take a 4-2 lead in the second, before eventually fighting to a 7-5 win in set two. The third set went back and forth for the first six points, with the match tied at three. Stefani again dug deep for three-straight points and the match point to tie it at three.
Court two went nearly the same direction, as No. 72 Sammi Hampton rolled to a 6-3 win in the first set against No. 25 Ashley Lahey. Like Stefani, Lahey turned it on late in the second set to win 7-5 and force the third set. She would control the third, winning 6-2 to clinch the match for Pepperdine.
The Devils will now turn their focus to Sunday, as they host No. 2 Ohio State at 11 a.m. at Whiteman Tennis Center.
The Buckeyes play #9 Pepperdine tomorrow at 12 p.m. at Whiteman as well.
#9 Pepperdine – 4, #35 Arizona State – 3
Whiteman Tennis Center
March 3, 2017
Doubles
1. #3 Maddox/Ahmed (PEP) def. #36 Osborne/Fossa-Huergo (ASU) – 7-6(4)
2. Anderson/Slaysman (ASU) def. Stefani/Lahey (PEP) – 7-5
3. Milovanovic/Runglerdkriangkrai (PEP) def. Jump/Hampton (ASU) – 6-4
Order of Finish: 3,2,1
Singles
1. #6 Luisa Stefani (PEP) def. #79 Kassidy Jump (ASU) – 1-6, 7-5, 6-3
2. #25 Ashley Lahey (PEP) def. #72 Sammi Hampton (ASU) – 3-6, 7-5, 6-2
3. Kelley Anderson (ASU) def. #17 Mayar Sharif Ahmed (PEP) – 6-3, 6-4
4. Nicole Fossa-Huergo (ASU) def. #51 Laura Gulbe (PEP) – 7-5, 6-3
5. Dzina Milovanovic (PEP) def. Savannah Slaysman (ASU) – 6-2, 6-3
6. Gussie O'Sullivan (ASU) def. Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai (PEP) – 6-3, 7-5
Order of Finish: 5, 3, 4, 6, 1, 2
While junior Kelley Anderson did capture an upset over No. 17 Mayar Sharif Ahmed on court three for her 11th-straight victory, the match came down to a third-set battle on courts one and two to decide the match.
"Anytime you lose 4-3 with a couple three-setters at the end, it's a tough loss," said head coach Sheila McInerney. "I told the team that we battled really well. Pepperdine is obviously a tough team, we lost a tough doubles point and still battled back. We were really tough in the singles and to our credit, I thought we played tough. You certainly never like to lose, but with that being said, I thought it was a great match."
For the first time this season, the No. 35 Sun Devils lost a doubles point, which came down to a thriller on court one in front of a raucous crowd.
No. 36 Alex Osborne and Nicole Fossa-Huergo were on the brink of pulling an upset over No. 3 Christine Maddox and Ahmed. There were a total of six lead changes in their match before the Pepperdine duo grinded it out in a tiebreak game to win 7-6(4). That clinched the doubles point for the early 1-0 lead for the Waves.
In singles, Pepperdine expanded their lead to 2-0 thanks to Dzina Milovanovic winning 6-2, 6-3 in straight sets over freshman Savannah Slaysman.
Then the momentum begun to swing in ASU's direction. After Anderson upset Ahmed on court three, the good karma moved next door to court four with junior Nicole Fossa-Huergo. After a back and forth battle through both sets against No. 51 Laura Gulbe, Fossa-Huergo fought to a 7-5, 6-3 sweep of her sets for an upset of her own.
Not minutes later, senior Gussie "The Grinder" O'Sullivan gave the Devils their first lead of the day, as she grinded back from a 5-2 deficit in the second set for the 7-5 win. ASU took the 3-2 lead with courts one and two left to determine the entire match.
No. 79 Kassidy Jump rolled through her first set against No. 6 Luisa Stefani, 6-1. The second got off to a good start with a 2-0 lead for Jump, but Stefani appeared to flip a switch. She captured four straight points to take a 4-2 lead in the second, before eventually fighting to a 7-5 win in set two. The third set went back and forth for the first six points, with the match tied at three. Stefani again dug deep for three-straight points and the match point to tie it at three.
Court two went nearly the same direction, as No. 72 Sammi Hampton rolled to a 6-3 win in the first set against No. 25 Ashley Lahey. Like Stefani, Lahey turned it on late in the second set to win 7-5 and force the third set. She would control the third, winning 6-2 to clinch the match for Pepperdine.
The Devils will now turn their focus to Sunday, as they host No. 2 Ohio State at 11 a.m. at Whiteman Tennis Center.
The Buckeyes play #9 Pepperdine tomorrow at 12 p.m. at Whiteman as well.
#9 Pepperdine – 4, #35 Arizona State – 3
Whiteman Tennis Center
March 3, 2017
Doubles
1. #3 Maddox/Ahmed (PEP) def. #36 Osborne/Fossa-Huergo (ASU) – 7-6(4)
2. Anderson/Slaysman (ASU) def. Stefani/Lahey (PEP) – 7-5
3. Milovanovic/Runglerdkriangkrai (PEP) def. Jump/Hampton (ASU) – 6-4
Order of Finish: 3,2,1
Singles
1. #6 Luisa Stefani (PEP) def. #79 Kassidy Jump (ASU) – 1-6, 7-5, 6-3
2. #25 Ashley Lahey (PEP) def. #72 Sammi Hampton (ASU) – 3-6, 7-5, 6-2
3. Kelley Anderson (ASU) def. #17 Mayar Sharif Ahmed (PEP) – 6-3, 6-4
4. Nicole Fossa-Huergo (ASU) def. #51 Laura Gulbe (PEP) – 7-5, 6-3
5. Dzina Milovanovic (PEP) def. Savannah Slaysman (ASU) – 6-2, 6-3
6. Gussie O'Sullivan (ASU) def. Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai (PEP) – 6-3, 7-5
Order of Finish: 5, 3, 4, 6, 1, 2