STILLWATER, Okla. – The 22nd-ranked Sun Devil women's tennis team couldn't complete the upset of No. 15 Oklahoma State (4-0, 0-0 Big 12) in Stillwater Friday afternoon, falling to the Cowgirls in a nail-biter, 4-3, in the first round of the ITA Kickoff.
"It was a really tough one to lose," coach Sheila McInerney said. "We had match point at court four but just couldn't convert."
The day opened with the Sun Devils (1-1, 0-0 Pac-12) taking the doubles point thanks to dominant displays from duos on courts two and three.
Senior Nicole Fossa Huergo and freshman Sasa Klanecek were the first to finish, topping the Cowgirl duo of Hornung/McCray convincingly, 6-1, on court three. Shortly after, OSU tied the contest as No. 20 Babic/Blanco handed No. 28 Slaysman/Kolarova their second defeat of the young season, 6-2.
It came down to court two's pairing of Lauryn John-Baptiste and Ilze Hattingh. The new Devils handled the challenge from the Cowgirls and took the match to clinch the doubles point for ASU, 6-2.
Singles play was a tight affair that saw the Sun Devils take a quick 3-0 lead in dual match scoring, but eventually came down to the wire with the Cowgirls battling back in front of their home crowd.
No. 83 Savannah Slaysman played on court five and managed to get her second win of the season when she defeated Sofia Blanco in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0. Klanecek followed suit, sweeping Shir Hornung 6-3, 6-0 just a few minutes later.
The Cowgirls then hit back, grabbing victories on courts two and three in straight sets.
Megan McCray was too much for John-Baptiste to handle on court two and the OSU senior gave the Sun Devil freshman just her first loss of the 2018 calendar year.
Fossa Huergo nearly took Katarina Stresnakova into a third set, but the Sun Devil senior dropped a tiebreaker in the second set and fell, 3-6, 7-6(7).
The match came down to two Sun Devil newcomers on courts one and four who both jumped out to a lead and then found themselves in winner-take-all third sets against two of the best women in the NCAA.
On court four, Tereza Kolarova fell just short of recording the upset over No. 63 Marina Guinart. The back-and-forth affair went three sets with Kolarova winning the first, then just missing out on the sweep in a second-set tiebreak 7-6(7) before dropping the third set 4-6.
Hattingh won a first-set tiebreak on court one against No. 21 Vladica Babic, but the OSU senior lived up to her ITA ranking and took the next two sets 6-2, 6-4.
"It's a little painful right now, but I thought overall it was a great college tennis match with a great atmosphere," McInerney said. "This match will help us down the road for sure. We'll just have to rebound from the disappointment tomorrow."
With the defeat, ASU is scheduled to play in the consolation match Saturday at 5 p.m. MST against No. 24 TCU, who dropped their match with No. 23 Mississippi earlier today, 4-3.
ITA Kickoff | Stillwater, Okla. | Jan. 26, 2018
No. 22 Arizona State at No. 15 Oklahoma State
Doubles
1. No. 20 Vladica Babic/Sofia Blanco def. No. 28 Savannah Slaysman/Tereza Kolarova: 6-2
2. Lauryn John-Baptiste/Ilze Hattingh def. Marina Guinart/Katarina Stresnakova: 6-2
3. Sasa Klanecek/Nicole Fossa Huergo def. Shir Hornung/Megan McCray: 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
1. No. 21 Vladica Babic def. Ilze Hattingh: 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-4
2. Megan McCray def. Lauryn John-Baptiste: 6-2, 6-3
3. Katarina Stresnakova def. Nicole Fossa Huergo: 6-3, 7-6(3)
4. No. 63 Marina Guinart def. Tereza Kolarova: 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-4
5. No. 83 Savannah Slaysman def. Sofia Blanco: 6-1, 6-0
6. Sasa Klanecek def. Shir Hornung: 6-3, 6-0
Order of finish: 5, 6, 2, 3, 4, 1
"It was a really tough one to lose," coach Sheila McInerney said. "We had match point at court four but just couldn't convert."
The day opened with the Sun Devils (1-1, 0-0 Pac-12) taking the doubles point thanks to dominant displays from duos on courts two and three.
Senior Nicole Fossa Huergo and freshman Sasa Klanecek were the first to finish, topping the Cowgirl duo of Hornung/McCray convincingly, 6-1, on court three. Shortly after, OSU tied the contest as No. 20 Babic/Blanco handed No. 28 Slaysman/Kolarova their second defeat of the young season, 6-2.
It came down to court two's pairing of Lauryn John-Baptiste and Ilze Hattingh. The new Devils handled the challenge from the Cowgirls and took the match to clinch the doubles point for ASU, 6-2.
Singles play was a tight affair that saw the Sun Devils take a quick 3-0 lead in dual match scoring, but eventually came down to the wire with the Cowgirls battling back in front of their home crowd.
No. 83 Savannah Slaysman played on court five and managed to get her second win of the season when she defeated Sofia Blanco in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0. Klanecek followed suit, sweeping Shir Hornung 6-3, 6-0 just a few minutes later.
The Cowgirls then hit back, grabbing victories on courts two and three in straight sets.
Megan McCray was too much for John-Baptiste to handle on court two and the OSU senior gave the Sun Devil freshman just her first loss of the 2018 calendar year.
Fossa Huergo nearly took Katarina Stresnakova into a third set, but the Sun Devil senior dropped a tiebreaker in the second set and fell, 3-6, 7-6(7).
The match came down to two Sun Devil newcomers on courts one and four who both jumped out to a lead and then found themselves in winner-take-all third sets against two of the best women in the NCAA.
On court four, Tereza Kolarova fell just short of recording the upset over No. 63 Marina Guinart. The back-and-forth affair went three sets with Kolarova winning the first, then just missing out on the sweep in a second-set tiebreak 7-6(7) before dropping the third set 4-6.
Hattingh won a first-set tiebreak on court one against No. 21 Vladica Babic, but the OSU senior lived up to her ITA ranking and took the next two sets 6-2, 6-4.
"It's a little painful right now, but I thought overall it was a great college tennis match with a great atmosphere," McInerney said. "This match will help us down the road for sure. We'll just have to rebound from the disappointment tomorrow."
With the defeat, ASU is scheduled to play in the consolation match Saturday at 5 p.m. MST against No. 24 TCU, who dropped their match with No. 23 Mississippi earlier today, 4-3.
ITA Kickoff | Stillwater, Okla. | Jan. 26, 2018
No. 22 Arizona State at No. 15 Oklahoma State
Doubles
1. No. 20 Vladica Babic/Sofia Blanco def. No. 28 Savannah Slaysman/Tereza Kolarova: 6-2
2. Lauryn John-Baptiste/Ilze Hattingh def. Marina Guinart/Katarina Stresnakova: 6-2
3. Sasa Klanecek/Nicole Fossa Huergo def. Shir Hornung/Megan McCray: 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
1. No. 21 Vladica Babic def. Ilze Hattingh: 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-4
2. Megan McCray def. Lauryn John-Baptiste: 6-2, 6-3
3. Katarina Stresnakova def. Nicole Fossa Huergo: 6-3, 7-6(3)
4. No. 63 Marina Guinart def. Tereza Kolarova: 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-4
5. No. 83 Savannah Slaysman def. Sofia Blanco: 6-1, 6-0
6. Sasa Klanecek def. Shir Hornung: 6-3, 6-0
Order of finish: 5, 6, 2, 3, 4, 1