TEMPE, Ariz. – The Sun Devil women's tennis team returns home riding a five-match winning streak as they enter a crucial Pac-12 weekend against No. 39 USC on Friday, April 14 and No. 22 UCLA on Saturday, April 15.
The No. 29 Devils (12-5, 5-2) have the ability to move up in the Pac-12 standings, as well as continue to push towards head coach Sheila McInerney's 30th-straight NCAA postseason appearance with the season's end fast approaching.
"We are excited to be back home hosting two really good teams," said McInerney. "Both USC and UCLA are better than their current rankings and we expect them to come in here at their absolute best. We are coming off two nice wins on the road and we are looking forward to building off that momentum as we finish the regular season at home."
ASU wrapped up their final road trip of the regular season at Washington State and then-No. 31 Washington, defeating both to jump up into fourth in the Pac-12 standings.
The Trojans (8-8, 3-4) are coming off back-to-back victories of their own, shutting out both Utah and Colorado at home. Prior to that, USC split with the Devils' recent foes – WSU and UW – losing to the Huskies, 4-3, in Seattle. The lady Trojans have lost five of their last nine matches.
Their most recent significant victory came against then-No. 4 Michigan at home, defeating the Wolverines 5-2 on March 3.
USC boasts three women in the singles rankings, with Gabby Smith at No. 23, Jessica Failla at No. 46 and Zoe Katz at No. 113. They also have three duos in the doubles rankings, with Katz and Smith at No. 41, Angela Kulikov and Madison Westby at No. 61, and Rianna Valdes and Failla at No. 71.
The Bruins (12-5, 6-1) are one better than the Devils as far as winning streak goes, with UCLA winning their last six. That includes an upset of then-No. 12 California on March 11, 4-3. Since then, the UCLA women have only surrendered a total of three points in the five matches since, overpowering their opponents by a total of 22-3.
Two of their doubles pairings rank in the top 25 – Jada Hart and Ena Shibihara at No. 10 and Hart with Terri Fleming at No. 24 – while another two singles are in the singles rankings. Shibahara is one of the top-ranked players in the country at No. 3 – dropped from No. 2 in the recent poll – while Hart sits at No. 107.
Kassidy Jump, Kelley Anderson and Sammi Hampton all remain in the ITA singles rankings at No. 75, No. 102 and No. 109, respectively. In doubles, Nicole Fossa Huergo and Alex Osborne jumped up 10 spots to No. 73 this week as the only Sun Devils within the rankings.
UCLA will first take on the Wildcats in Tucson on Friday afternoon before traveling back to Tempe for Saturday's matinee showdown at 12 p.m. PT.
Friday's match with USC is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. PT at Whiteman Tennis Center. Both matches will be live streamed on the Arizona State live stream 2.
The No. 29 Devils (12-5, 5-2) have the ability to move up in the Pac-12 standings, as well as continue to push towards head coach Sheila McInerney's 30th-straight NCAA postseason appearance with the season's end fast approaching.
"We are excited to be back home hosting two really good teams," said McInerney. "Both USC and UCLA are better than their current rankings and we expect them to come in here at their absolute best. We are coming off two nice wins on the road and we are looking forward to building off that momentum as we finish the regular season at home."
ASU wrapped up their final road trip of the regular season at Washington State and then-No. 31 Washington, defeating both to jump up into fourth in the Pac-12 standings.
The Trojans (8-8, 3-4) are coming off back-to-back victories of their own, shutting out both Utah and Colorado at home. Prior to that, USC split with the Devils' recent foes – WSU and UW – losing to the Huskies, 4-3, in Seattle. The lady Trojans have lost five of their last nine matches.
Their most recent significant victory came against then-No. 4 Michigan at home, defeating the Wolverines 5-2 on March 3.
USC boasts three women in the singles rankings, with Gabby Smith at No. 23, Jessica Failla at No. 46 and Zoe Katz at No. 113. They also have three duos in the doubles rankings, with Katz and Smith at No. 41, Angela Kulikov and Madison Westby at No. 61, and Rianna Valdes and Failla at No. 71.
The Bruins (12-5, 6-1) are one better than the Devils as far as winning streak goes, with UCLA winning their last six. That includes an upset of then-No. 12 California on March 11, 4-3. Since then, the UCLA women have only surrendered a total of three points in the five matches since, overpowering their opponents by a total of 22-3.
Two of their doubles pairings rank in the top 25 – Jada Hart and Ena Shibihara at No. 10 and Hart with Terri Fleming at No. 24 – while another two singles are in the singles rankings. Shibahara is one of the top-ranked players in the country at No. 3 – dropped from No. 2 in the recent poll – while Hart sits at No. 107.
Kassidy Jump, Kelley Anderson and Sammi Hampton all remain in the ITA singles rankings at No. 75, No. 102 and No. 109, respectively. In doubles, Nicole Fossa Huergo and Alex Osborne jumped up 10 spots to No. 73 this week as the only Sun Devils within the rankings.
UCLA will first take on the Wildcats in Tucson on Friday afternoon before traveling back to Tempe for Saturday's matinee showdown at 12 p.m. PT.
Friday's match with USC is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. PT at Whiteman Tennis Center. Both matches will be live streamed on the Arizona State live stream 2.