TEMPE – No. 20 Arizona State will welcome the Santa Clara Broncos (1-3, 0-0 WCC) to the Whiteman Tennis Center for the second time in program history Saturday, as ASU looks to continue its impressive start to the 2018 campaign.
Sheila McInerney's Devils and the Broncos have met only once before, in the spring of 2013, and ASU came away with a tight 4-3 win in Tempe. That win came exactly five years prior to the second iteration of the series this weekend.
"They're a good team," McInerney said. "They just played Fresno State really close, 4-3, and it came down to the third in that last match. They've played Cal Berkley well and have had an overall tough schedule. There are a couple of Arizona kids on the roster, who we know, so I'm expecting a good hard-fought match. We're going to have to play well if we want to come away with the W."
In 2013, the win over the Broncos was McInerney's 422nd career win, and should the Devils prevail over Santa Clara again, it will mark another historic milestone in her 34-year tenure.
McInerney goes into Saturday's match with 499 career wins, looking to reach the 500-win mark. To date, McInerney is sixth on the list for most wins by a coach in ASU history, and should she break into the 500 club, she will be the sixth coach in any sport in Sun Devil history to achieve the feat.
"As a coach, you don't worry about that until it comes," McInerney said. "I guess it means I've been here a long time. I don't know if I'm going to be here for another 500, but it'll be nice to get it. It's a good time to reflect about the time you've spent here and think about all of the student-athletes have who have come through here."
The Sun Devils head into the match with several players ranked in both singles and doubles, and as a squad, ASU is ranked No. 20 for the second-straight week in the ITA/Oracle rankings.
Sophomore Savannah Slaysman is currently placed at 110 in singles and 37th in doubles with freshman Tereza Kolarova. True frosh Lauryn John-Baptiste has taken well to collegiate tennis, besting three ranked opponents and even playing on court one this season. For her impressive start, she came in at 55th in singles and 53rd in doubles with sophomore Ilze Hattingh in the latest poll.
ASU has yet to drop a doubles point this season in all five of their dual-matches, in part thanks to the dominance of John-Baptiste/Hattingh and Klanecek/Fossa Huergo on courts two and three.
The court two tandem hasn't dropped a match since their debut, and Klanecek/Fossa Huergo have been just as brilliant, having lost only once this season and winning their last six in-a-row.
The Devils and Broncos get going at noon Saturday in Tempe. The match will be live-streamed on ASU Live Stream 2, and live results will be available at asu.statbroadcast.com.
Rankings Update
The Sun Devils' hot start has seen coach Sheila McInerney's squad remain in the top-25 for the fifth-straight week, this time holding at No. 20.
The ranking is in part thanks to the grand debut of Lauryn John-Baptiste who has been on a roll for the Devils, playing mostly on court two. Her 5-1 record in the spring has included wins over three ranked opponents, and has earned her the No. 55 singles rank.
Sophomore Savannah Slaysman had a tough start to her 2018 season, but has since won four of her last five matches and the ITA continues to recognize the young Sun Devil's talent as the organization has her ranked 110th in the nation.
The Devils have thrived in doubles play this season, winning every doubles point this season. Two of ASU's doubles pairings made the ITA's top-60 list, including Kolarova/Slaysman at 37, and Hattingh/John-Baptiste at 53. The South African and English duo on court two is undefeated in 2018.
ASU is the fourth-highest ranked Pac-12 squad, and the Pac-12 has the second-most teams in the top-25 behind the SEC.
Defending conference champion Stanford leads the way at No. 6, and UCLA (10) and Cal (15) sit ahead of ASU while No. 22 Washington and newly ranked Oregon (24) also represent the conference.
Sheila Says
On true freshman Lauryn John-Baptiste
"It's early to judge any of the rankings. I'm a big believer of the only rankings that matter are the final rankings in May, but she's done a good job. She's come in and played in the top-spot these last two matches, and that's always tough for a freshman. She's always going to have a tough opponent just like Ilze will at two. You always need a couple of college matches under your belt before you can feel comfortable, but I think she's settled in nicely."
On the doubles lineup for this weekend
"It's looking like we're going to switch up the doubles lineup a bit. I think we'll keep Lauryn and Ilze together, but we've got a couple more days of practice so we can figure out what we're going to do with the other doubles at least for this weekend. We're sort of playing it by ear with all of the new kids we have and some of the kids we thought would play but aren't. Our kids are very adaptable and we teach all of them how to play doubles on either side of the court, so we should be good to go."
Doubles Dominance
Arizona State's fall campaign saw the Devils put on a show in doubles, upending some of the best tandems in the nation en route to a 17-6 record.
So far this spring, the Sun Devils have continued the trend and have been dominant in doubles play, winning the point in all five of their dual matches in 2018 and compiling a team doubles record of 11-4, with two teams sitting at a perfect 5-0.
Ilze Hattingh and Lauryn John-Baptiste have been on a tear on court two, racking up six-straight wins, and all five in each of their dual match appearances as a duo. For their exploits on the court, they received a No. 53 ranking from the ITA in the February release.
Ahead of them on court one, Kolarova/Slaysman have had a tough start to the season but are still the 38th-ranked tandem in the nation, and on court three, Sasa Klanecek and senior Nicole Fossa Huergo have been just as good as Hattingh/John-Baptiste as they have also gone 5-0 in dual match play this season.
Get to Know the Broncos
The 2018 Santa Clara Broncos are currently 1-3 this season, but the record doesn't reflect the squad's talent.
Head coach Ben Cabell has been with the Broncos for 11 seasons and recently broke the 100-win mark. Under Cabell's watch, Santa Clara has had 33 women earn all-WCC honors, with the most recent coming last season.
Although the Broncos have struggled on the road, dropping all three contests, the team took two points from No. 15 Cal in Berkley and barely dropped a match against Fresno State on the road last weekend.
Sheila McInerney's Devils and the Broncos have met only once before, in the spring of 2013, and ASU came away with a tight 4-3 win in Tempe. That win came exactly five years prior to the second iteration of the series this weekend.
"They're a good team," McInerney said. "They just played Fresno State really close, 4-3, and it came down to the third in that last match. They've played Cal Berkley well and have had an overall tough schedule. There are a couple of Arizona kids on the roster, who we know, so I'm expecting a good hard-fought match. We're going to have to play well if we want to come away with the W."
In 2013, the win over the Broncos was McInerney's 422nd career win, and should the Devils prevail over Santa Clara again, it will mark another historic milestone in her 34-year tenure.
McInerney goes into Saturday's match with 499 career wins, looking to reach the 500-win mark. To date, McInerney is sixth on the list for most wins by a coach in ASU history, and should she break into the 500 club, she will be the sixth coach in any sport in Sun Devil history to achieve the feat.
Our own @asu10s_coachmac is closing in on 5?0?0? career wins!
— Sun Devil W. Tennis (@sundevilwtennis) February 14, 2018
Last fall, she talked about her time so far a Sun Devil??https://t.co/LmKqNSwn7N
"As a coach, you don't worry about that until it comes," McInerney said. "I guess it means I've been here a long time. I don't know if I'm going to be here for another 500, but it'll be nice to get it. It's a good time to reflect about the time you've spent here and think about all of the student-athletes have who have come through here."
The Sun Devils head into the match with several players ranked in both singles and doubles, and as a squad, ASU is ranked No. 20 for the second-straight week in the ITA/Oracle rankings.
Sophomore Savannah Slaysman is currently placed at 110 in singles and 37th in doubles with freshman Tereza Kolarova. True frosh Lauryn John-Baptiste has taken well to collegiate tennis, besting three ranked opponents and even playing on court one this season. For her impressive start, she came in at 55th in singles and 53rd in doubles with sophomore Ilze Hattingh in the latest poll.
ASU has yet to drop a doubles point this season in all five of their dual-matches, in part thanks to the dominance of John-Baptiste/Hattingh and Klanecek/Fossa Huergo on courts two and three.
The court two tandem hasn't dropped a match since their debut, and Klanecek/Fossa Huergo have been just as brilliant, having lost only once this season and winning their last six in-a-row.
The Devils and Broncos get going at noon Saturday in Tempe. The match will be live-streamed on ASU Live Stream 2, and live results will be available at asu.statbroadcast.com.
Rankings Update
The Sun Devils' hot start has seen coach Sheila McInerney's squad remain in the top-25 for the fifth-straight week, this time holding at No. 20.
The ranking is in part thanks to the grand debut of Lauryn John-Baptiste who has been on a roll for the Devils, playing mostly on court two. Her 5-1 record in the spring has included wins over three ranked opponents, and has earned her the No. 55 singles rank.
Sophomore Savannah Slaysman had a tough start to her 2018 season, but has since won four of her last five matches and the ITA continues to recognize the young Sun Devil's talent as the organization has her ranked 110th in the nation.
The Devils have thrived in doubles play this season, winning every doubles point this season. Two of ASU's doubles pairings made the ITA's top-60 list, including Kolarova/Slaysman at 37, and Hattingh/John-Baptiste at 53. The South African and English duo on court two is undefeated in 2018.
Fresh set of rankings from @ITA_Tennis...#ForksUp?? pic.twitter.com/4YlsHCfMNS
— Sun Devil W. Tennis (@sundevilwtennis) February 7, 2018
ASU is the fourth-highest ranked Pac-12 squad, and the Pac-12 has the second-most teams in the top-25 behind the SEC.
Defending conference champion Stanford leads the way at No. 6, and UCLA (10) and Cal (15) sit ahead of ASU while No. 22 Washington and newly ranked Oregon (24) also represent the conference.
Sheila Says
On true freshman Lauryn John-Baptiste
"It's early to judge any of the rankings. I'm a big believer of the only rankings that matter are the final rankings in May, but she's done a good job. She's come in and played in the top-spot these last two matches, and that's always tough for a freshman. She's always going to have a tough opponent just like Ilze will at two. You always need a couple of college matches under your belt before you can feel comfortable, but I think she's settled in nicely."
On the doubles lineup for this weekend
"It's looking like we're going to switch up the doubles lineup a bit. I think we'll keep Lauryn and Ilze together, but we've got a couple more days of practice so we can figure out what we're going to do with the other doubles at least for this weekend. We're sort of playing it by ear with all of the new kids we have and some of the kids we thought would play but aren't. Our kids are very adaptable and we teach all of them how to play doubles on either side of the court, so we should be good to go."
Doubles Dominance
Arizona State's fall campaign saw the Devils put on a show in doubles, upending some of the best tandems in the nation en route to a 17-6 record.
So far this spring, the Sun Devils have continued the trend and have been dominant in doubles play, winning the point in all five of their dual matches in 2018 and compiling a team doubles record of 11-4, with two teams sitting at a perfect 5-0.
Ilze Hattingh and Lauryn John-Baptiste have been on a tear on court two, racking up six-straight wins, and all five in each of their dual match appearances as a duo. For their exploits on the court, they received a No. 53 ranking from the ITA in the February release.
Ahead of them on court one, Kolarova/Slaysman have had a tough start to the season but are still the 38th-ranked tandem in the nation, and on court three, Sasa Klanecek and senior Nicole Fossa Huergo have been just as good as Hattingh/John-Baptiste as they have also gone 5-0 in dual match play this season.
Get to Know the Broncos
The 2018 Santa Clara Broncos are currently 1-3 this season, but the record doesn't reflect the squad's talent.
Head coach Ben Cabell has been with the Broncos for 11 seasons and recently broke the 100-win mark. Under Cabell's watch, Santa Clara has had 33 women earn all-WCC honors, with the most recent coming last season.
Although the Broncos have struggled on the road, dropping all three contests, the team took two points from No. 15 Cal in Berkley and barely dropped a match against Fresno State on the road last weekend.