TEMPE – Sun Devil head coach Sheila McInerney moved to just two wins away from 500 in her illustrious career after Arizona State fought off the UNLV Rebels, 4-2, Friday at the Whiteman Tennis Center.
"Any win is a good win," McInerney said. "We have to rely on six kids and they came through. We just have to take this win and get ready for what will probably be another tough match on Sunday."
Lauryn John-Baptiste and Ilze Hattingh won their fifth doubles match in as many tries to start the day for the Sun Devils. The duo swept the Rebel tandem of Bogoslavets/Li 6-0 and set up ASU with a chance to win its fourth-straight doubles point win.
Although Asano/Zhang took down Fossa Huergo/Klanecek 6-4 on court three, the Devils clinched the doubles point when No. 28 Savannah Slaysman and Tereza Kolarova won their first match of 2018 against the Rebels' top-duo of Zhu/Huang in dramatic fashion on court one, 7-5.
"To Tereza and Savannah's credit, they'd been struggling lately and they came away with the clinching point, which was important for us the way the match turned out," McInerney said.
In singles play, while Ilze Hattingh fell on court one, the Sun Devils got wins on courts three, five and six from Nicole Fossa Huergo, Savannah Slaysman and Sasa Klanecek.
Fossa Huergo's win was the first singles win for the Devils on the day, as she handled En-Pei Huang on court three, 6-4, 6-3. The win marked her sixth win of the season.
No. 83 Slaysman stayed perfect at home when she beat Samantha Li, 6-3, 6-1, and Klanecek defeated Juliet Zhang in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1 to clinch the match for the Sun Devils.
"We knew singles would be a dogfight," McInerney said. "Their No. 1 player is really good and she beat us at two last year. Tereza sort of tweaked her ankle a couple of days ago in practice and it was a tough match like we thought it would be, but Nicole got off the court pretty quickly and Sasa played well on court six.
ASU's win moves them to 20-0 all-time against the Rebels, and moved McInerney to 498 wins in her 34-year Sun Devil career.
"Everything is going to be hard," McInerney said. "That's what we can take away from this match. We didn't expect an easy match from UNLV and they played us really well, and we don't expect Gonzaga to take it easy on Sunday as well because they've got a really good team, too."
The Devils return to action Sunday at the Whiteman Tennis Center when they host Gonzaga for the first time.
Doubles Results
No. 28 Kolarova/Slaysman def. Zhu Huang | 7-5
John-Baptiste/Hattingh def. Bogoslavets/Li | 6-0
Asano/Zhang def. Fossa Huergo/Klanecek | 6-4
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles Results
Aiwen Zhu def. Ilze Hattingh | 6-3, 6-0
Lauryn John-Baptiste vs. Izumi Asano | 4-6, 4-1 unf.
Nicole Fossa Huergo def. En-Pei Huang | 6-4, 6-3
Anna Bogoslavets def. Tereza Kolarova | 6-0, 6-4
No. 83 Savannah Slaysman def. Samantha Li | 6-3, 6-1
Sasa Klanecek def. Juliet Zhang | 6-3, 6-1
Order of finish: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6
"Any win is a good win," McInerney said. "We have to rely on six kids and they came through. We just have to take this win and get ready for what will probably be another tough match on Sunday."
Lauryn John-Baptiste and Ilze Hattingh won their fifth doubles match in as many tries to start the day for the Sun Devils. The duo swept the Rebel tandem of Bogoslavets/Li 6-0 and set up ASU with a chance to win its fourth-straight doubles point win.
Although Asano/Zhang took down Fossa Huergo/Klanecek 6-4 on court three, the Devils clinched the doubles point when No. 28 Savannah Slaysman and Tereza Kolarova won their first match of 2018 against the Rebels' top-duo of Zhu/Huang in dramatic fashion on court one, 7-5.
"To Tereza and Savannah's credit, they'd been struggling lately and they came away with the clinching point, which was important for us the way the match turned out," McInerney said.
In singles play, while Ilze Hattingh fell on court one, the Sun Devils got wins on courts three, five and six from Nicole Fossa Huergo, Savannah Slaysman and Sasa Klanecek.
Fossa Huergo's win was the first singles win for the Devils on the day, as she handled En-Pei Huang on court three, 6-4, 6-3. The win marked her sixth win of the season.
No. 83 Slaysman stayed perfect at home when she beat Samantha Li, 6-3, 6-1, and Klanecek defeated Juliet Zhang in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1 to clinch the match for the Sun Devils.
"We knew singles would be a dogfight," McInerney said. "Their No. 1 player is really good and she beat us at two last year. Tereza sort of tweaked her ankle a couple of days ago in practice and it was a tough match like we thought it would be, but Nicole got off the court pretty quickly and Sasa played well on court six.
ASU's win moves them to 20-0 all-time against the Rebels, and moved McInerney to 498 wins in her 34-year Sun Devil career.
"Everything is going to be hard," McInerney said. "That's what we can take away from this match. We didn't expect an easy match from UNLV and they played us really well, and we don't expect Gonzaga to take it easy on Sunday as well because they've got a really good team, too."
The Devils return to action Sunday at the Whiteman Tennis Center when they host Gonzaga for the first time.
Doubles Results
No. 28 Kolarova/Slaysman def. Zhu Huang | 7-5
John-Baptiste/Hattingh def. Bogoslavets/Li | 6-0
Asano/Zhang def. Fossa Huergo/Klanecek | 6-4
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles Results
Aiwen Zhu def. Ilze Hattingh | 6-3, 6-0
Lauryn John-Baptiste vs. Izumi Asano | 4-6, 4-1 unf.
Nicole Fossa Huergo def. En-Pei Huang | 6-4, 6-3
Anna Bogoslavets def. Tereza Kolarova | 6-0, 6-4
No. 83 Savannah Slaysman def. Samantha Li | 6-3, 6-1
Sasa Klanecek def. Juliet Zhang | 6-3, 6-1
Order of finish: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6