SALT LAKE CITY – The Arizona State Sun Devil women's tennis team opened conference play on high note Friday as they stormed past Utah in Salt Lake City 4-1.
Lauryn John-Baptiste and Ilze Hattingh's doubles pairing remained unbeaten when they defeated W. Turley/Calton, 6-1 to tie the match with the Utes after the hosts took court three over Slaysman/Klanecek, 6-3.
It came down to the court one matchup between Kolarova/Fossa Huergo and Petrovic/Cheng, and Utah kept the home cooking going, winning 6-3.
Down 1-0 going into singles play, ASU had a small margin for error, but proved resilient as they overcame the deficit to take the match 4-1.
ASU's first point of the day came on court two when Hattingh powered past Briana Chisholm in straight-sets, 6-3, 6-4. It was the Sun Devil newcomer's third consecutive victory, her longest win-streak of the season.
No. 116 Savannah Slaysman won her first match in two weeks, and like Hattingh, did so in straight-sets, fighting past Taylor Calton in a tough 7-5 first set and overpowering the Ute opponent 6-2 to clinch ASU's second point of the afternoon.
The longest singles unbeaten streak for the Devils was extended to nine when Sasa Klanecek defeated Whitney Turley on court five. Although Klanecek swept her opponent for her ninth-straight win, Turley managed to take five games from the freshman Devil in the first set. Klanecek settled down in the second, though, and comfortably closed out the match 6-2.
The clinching win came on court three when the only active Sun Devil senior Nicole Fossa Huergo gutted out a three-set victory.
She dropped the first set 3-6, but came back to win the next two 7-6 and 6-3 for the dual-match win.
No. 34 ASU 4, Utah 1
Doubles (3,2,1)
Alexia Petrovic/Jena Cheng (UTAH) def. No. 58 Nicole Fossa Huergo/Tereza Kolarova (ASU), 6-3
Lauryn John-Baptiste/Ilze Hattingh (ASU) def. Whitney Turley/Taylor Calton (UTAH), 6-1
Brianna Chisholm/Victoria Robertson (UTAH) def. No. 37 Sasa Klanecek/Savannah Slaysman (ASU), 6-3
Singles (2,4,5,3)
Alexia Petrovic (UTAH) vs. No. 83 Lauryn John-Baptiste (ASU), 1-6, 7-6, 1-1, unf.
Ilze Hattingh (ASU) def. Brianna Chisholm (UTAH), 6-3, 6-4
Nicole Fossa Huergo (ASU) def. Jena Cheng (UTAH), 3-6, 7-6, 6-3
No. 116 Savannah Slaysman (ASU) def. Taylor Calton (UTAH), 7-5, 6-2
Sasa Klanecek (ASU) def. Whitney Turley (UTAH), 7-5, 6-2
Victoria Robertson (UTAH) vs. Tereza Kolarova (ASU), 7-6, 3-6, 1-2, unf.
"We're happy to get the win today," coach Sheila McInerney said. "Conference road wins are always difficult. We started out poorly with our doubles play but I thought we rebounded well in the singles, winning four first sets quickly."
It was the Sun Devils' first true road win of the season having dropped the other three to top-20 foes in Oklahoma State, Ohio State and Kentucky. The Devils lone win away from home prior to the victory Friday was against TCU during the ITA Kickoff Weekend, but ASU defeated the Horned Frogs in a neutral setting.Lauryn John-Baptiste and Ilze Hattingh's doubles pairing remained unbeaten when they defeated W. Turley/Calton, 6-1 to tie the match with the Utes after the hosts took court three over Slaysman/Klanecek, 6-3.
It came down to the court one matchup between Kolarova/Fossa Huergo and Petrovic/Cheng, and Utah kept the home cooking going, winning 6-3.
Down 1-0 going into singles play, ASU had a small margin for error, but proved resilient as they overcame the deficit to take the match 4-1.
ASU's first point of the day came on court two when Hattingh powered past Briana Chisholm in straight-sets, 6-3, 6-4. It was the Sun Devil newcomer's third consecutive victory, her longest win-streak of the season.
No. 116 Savannah Slaysman won her first match in two weeks, and like Hattingh, did so in straight-sets, fighting past Taylor Calton in a tough 7-5 first set and overpowering the Ute opponent 6-2 to clinch ASU's second point of the afternoon.
The longest singles unbeaten streak for the Devils was extended to nine when Sasa Klanecek defeated Whitney Turley on court five. Although Klanecek swept her opponent for her ninth-straight win, Turley managed to take five games from the freshman Devil in the first set. Klanecek settled down in the second, though, and comfortably closed out the match 6-2.
The clinching win came on court three when the only active Sun Devil senior Nicole Fossa Huergo gutted out a three-set victory.
She dropped the first set 3-6, but came back to win the next two 7-6 and 6-3 for the dual-match win.
"We knew Utah would not go down without a fight and that was the case," McInerney said. "I give a lot of credit to Nicole for clinching the match for us even after losing the first set. Now it's on to Colorado and another tough battle, Sunday."
The road trip for the Devils continues Sunday when they take on the Buffaloes in Boulder, Colorado.No. 34 ASU 4, Utah 1
Doubles (3,2,1)
Alexia Petrovic/Jena Cheng (UTAH) def. No. 58 Nicole Fossa Huergo/Tereza Kolarova (ASU), 6-3
Lauryn John-Baptiste/Ilze Hattingh (ASU) def. Whitney Turley/Taylor Calton (UTAH), 6-1
Brianna Chisholm/Victoria Robertson (UTAH) def. No. 37 Sasa Klanecek/Savannah Slaysman (ASU), 6-3
Singles (2,4,5,3)
Alexia Petrovic (UTAH) vs. No. 83 Lauryn John-Baptiste (ASU), 1-6, 7-6, 1-1, unf.
Ilze Hattingh (ASU) def. Brianna Chisholm (UTAH), 6-3, 6-4
Nicole Fossa Huergo (ASU) def. Jena Cheng (UTAH), 3-6, 7-6, 6-3
No. 116 Savannah Slaysman (ASU) def. Taylor Calton (UTAH), 7-5, 6-2
Sasa Klanecek (ASU) def. Whitney Turley (UTAH), 7-5, 6-2
Victoria Robertson (UTAH) vs. Tereza Kolarova (ASU), 7-6, 3-6, 1-2, unf.