TEMPE, Ariz. – The Sun Devil women's tennis team finished the 2016-17 regular season in dominating fashion over their in-state rival, shutting out the University of Arizona, 4-0, on Saturday afternoon at Whiteman Tennis Center. The victory – along with USC's upset of UCLA – moved ASU up into third place in the Pac-12 regular season standings, thus becoming the program's best conference finish, surpassing their fourth-place performance last season.
The Devils (14-6, 7-3) also sent the seniors out in style on Senior Day, giving the university a 7.5 to 6.5 lead in the Territorial Cup® Series over Arizona.
"It's always big to win this match," said head coach Sheila McInerney. "I've been here for 33 years, so beating Arizona means a lot to every student-athlete, every coach and every fan. The longer you've been here, the more it means. It's something we highlight every year, and I feel I've played like 70 of these being we used to play them twice a year. I don't necessarily remember all 70, but all of them were really important, and at the time, all were a heart attack waiting to happen."
Coach McInerney could rest easy in this one, however, as her team took control early by snagging the doubles point over the Wildcats (11-12, 2-8) with wins on courts two and three.
Junior Kelley Anderson and freshman Savannah Slaysman took care of business first, winning the final four games of their match with Samantha Czarniak and Marie Van Aelst for the 6-1 victory.
UA's Lauren Marker and Paris Corley – ranked No. 56 in doubles – finished with four straight games of their own on court one to knock off senior Alex Osborne and junior Nicole Fossa Huergo, 6-3.
This put the pressure on senior Kassidy Jump and sophomore Sammi Hampton on court three. The duo started with a 4-2 lead, but Camila Wesbrooks and Devin Chypyha knotted it up at four all. Jump and Hampton pulled away with two-straight points for the 6-4 victory to clinch the doubles point.
With a clinch-clinch scenario agreed upon by both coaches, the Devils had the ability to clinch with victories on just three of the six courts.
They did just that, as Fossa Huergo, Slaysman and #104 Hampton won on courts four, five and second, respectively.
On court one, Jump – ranked No. 60 in the ITA rankings – had No. 28 Lauren Marker up against the ropes after winning the first set 6-2 and neck-and-neck in the second set.
"We've won six out of our last seven matches with big wins over UCLA, Washington, Oregon and a tough loss against USC," said McInerney. "I think we're playing well. Even the one loss, I thought we played really well. It'll be good going into the Pac-12 Tournament, especially with the tournament being a team format for the first time ever this year. We just have to continue to get better, even though we're already playing really well."
The Devils now turn their focus to the Pac-12 Tournament in Ojai, Calif. beginning on Wednesday, April 26. As the No. 3 seed, ASU will have a bye and play the winner of six-seed USC and 11-seed Washington State on Thursday, April 27 at 11 a.m. PT.
#26 Arizona State – 4, Arizona – 0
Whiteman Tennis Center
Saturday, April 22
Doubles:
1.#56 Marker/Corley (UA) def. Osborne/Fossa Huergo (ASU) – 6-3
2. Anderson/Slaysman (ASU) def. Czarniak/Van Aelst (UA) – 6-1
3. Jump/Hampton (ASU) def. Wesbrooks/Chypyha (UA) – 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles:
1.#60 Kassidy Jump (ASU) vs. #28 Lauren Marker (UA) – 6-2, 4-5 (Aband)
2. #104 Sammi Hampton (ASU) def. Paris Corley (UA) – 6-3, 6-1
3. #107 Kelley Anderson (ASU) vs. Camila Wesbrooks (UA) – 7-6(2), 2-3 (Aband)
4. Nicole Fossa Huergo (ASU) def. Devin Chypyha (UA) – 6-2, 6-1
5. Savannah Slaysman (ASU) def. Marie Van Aelst (UA) – 6-3, 6-2
6. Gussie O'Sullivan (ASU) vs. Maggie Cohen (UA) – 6-1, 2-0 (Aband)
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 2
The Devils (14-6, 7-3) also sent the seniors out in style on Senior Day, giving the university a 7.5 to 6.5 lead in the Territorial Cup® Series over Arizona.
"It's always big to win this match," said head coach Sheila McInerney. "I've been here for 33 years, so beating Arizona means a lot to every student-athlete, every coach and every fan. The longer you've been here, the more it means. It's something we highlight every year, and I feel I've played like 70 of these being we used to play them twice a year. I don't necessarily remember all 70, but all of them were really important, and at the time, all were a heart attack waiting to happen."
Coach McInerney could rest easy in this one, however, as her team took control early by snagging the doubles point over the Wildcats (11-12, 2-8) with wins on courts two and three.
Junior Kelley Anderson and freshman Savannah Slaysman took care of business first, winning the final four games of their match with Samantha Czarniak and Marie Van Aelst for the 6-1 victory.
UA's Lauren Marker and Paris Corley – ranked No. 56 in doubles – finished with four straight games of their own on court one to knock off senior Alex Osborne and junior Nicole Fossa Huergo, 6-3.
This put the pressure on senior Kassidy Jump and sophomore Sammi Hampton on court three. The duo started with a 4-2 lead, but Camila Wesbrooks and Devin Chypyha knotted it up at four all. Jump and Hampton pulled away with two-straight points for the 6-4 victory to clinch the doubles point.
With a clinch-clinch scenario agreed upon by both coaches, the Devils had the ability to clinch with victories on just three of the six courts.
They did just that, as Fossa Huergo, Slaysman and #104 Hampton won on courts four, five and second, respectively.
On court one, Jump – ranked No. 60 in the ITA rankings – had No. 28 Lauren Marker up against the ropes after winning the first set 6-2 and neck-and-neck in the second set.
"We've won six out of our last seven matches with big wins over UCLA, Washington, Oregon and a tough loss against USC," said McInerney. "I think we're playing well. Even the one loss, I thought we played really well. It'll be good going into the Pac-12 Tournament, especially with the tournament being a team format for the first time ever this year. We just have to continue to get better, even though we're already playing really well."
The Devils now turn their focus to the Pac-12 Tournament in Ojai, Calif. beginning on Wednesday, April 26. As the No. 3 seed, ASU will have a bye and play the winner of six-seed USC and 11-seed Washington State on Thursday, April 27 at 11 a.m. PT.
#26 Arizona State – 4, Arizona – 0
Whiteman Tennis Center
Saturday, April 22
Doubles:
1.#56 Marker/Corley (UA) def. Osborne/Fossa Huergo (ASU) – 6-3
2. Anderson/Slaysman (ASU) def. Czarniak/Van Aelst (UA) – 6-1
3. Jump/Hampton (ASU) def. Wesbrooks/Chypyha (UA) – 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles:
1.#60 Kassidy Jump (ASU) vs. #28 Lauren Marker (UA) – 6-2, 4-5 (Aband)
2. #104 Sammi Hampton (ASU) def. Paris Corley (UA) – 6-3, 6-1
3. #107 Kelley Anderson (ASU) vs. Camila Wesbrooks (UA) – 7-6(2), 2-3 (Aband)
4. Nicole Fossa Huergo (ASU) def. Devin Chypyha (UA) – 6-2, 6-1
5. Savannah Slaysman (ASU) def. Marie Van Aelst (UA) – 6-3, 6-2
6. Gussie O'Sullivan (ASU) vs. Maggie Cohen (UA) – 6-1, 2-0 (Aband)
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 2