TEMPE – The Sun Devil women's tennis team heads to Tucson this Saturday for its final regular season matchup against in-state rival Arizona for a coveted Territorial Cup Series point.
"This is a big weekend for the T-Cup," coach Sheila McInerney said. "I think we're down right now but we've got a chance to get a point and men's tennis and softball both have a chance too. It's a big deal. I've been here a long time, so I'm smart enough to know you want to beat U of A."
In addition to the T-Cup point, the Sun Devils are looking to improve to 15-6 on the season, which would give them their fifth 15-win season in six years. For Arizona, the match is the squad's final opportunity to claim a conference win before the Pac-12 tournament next weekend.
"It's always big playing the rival," McInerney said. "It's certainly more difficult to play them on the road versus home, so we're expecting a tough match. They've struggled a bit in the league as far as wins, but individually they've competed well against some of the girls we've played this year. They've had a couple of kids in and out of the lineup, but they're healthy now."
There's more than just a T-Cup point up for grabs for the Devils as well. A win Saturday would cement them as the three-seed heading into the conference tournament and would keep them in the hunt for another NCAA Tournament berth.
"It's a big match for us because you always want to start out in the quarterfinals," McInerney said. "That coupled with it being the last match and of course the rivalry with U of A, it makes this one a little more intense for both teams."
To get it done in Tucson, the Devils will go with a roster of student-athletes who will be making their first trip to the school down South and only two active Devils who have participated in the rivalry in Nicole Fossa Huergo and Savannah Slayman.
"I think our kids are looking forward to it and it'll be interesting because it's the first time any of them have been down there," McInerney said. "It might be the first time since I've been here we've had anything like that. You tell them about [Tucson], but until they get down there and experience it, it's hard for them to understand it."
ASU has been the more successful of the two programs head-to-head, winning the last four meetings and going 22-6 (44-19 overall) against the Wildcats since the new millennium.
In the last dual, the Devils swept Arizona 4-0 in Tempe to close out the 2017 season, and last time in Tucson, ASU won 7-0 in 2016.
The Sun Devils and Wildcats hit the courts at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center Saturday at 1 p.m. Live results and a live stream will be available on arizonawildcats.com.
Rankings Update
After splitting last weekend's matchups in Los Angeles, the Sun Devils moved up one spot in the latest Oracle/ITA Rankings to No. 32.
The Devils also moved up to the third spot out of eight in the Pac-12 Conference, behind No. 20 Stanford and No. 13 UCLA, where they also stand in the conference heading into the final matches of the regular season before the seeding for the Pac-12 Tournament in Ojai, California.
The duo of Lauryn John-Baptiste and Ilze Hattingh moved up to No. 17 from last week's No. 21 with a 15-1 record on the season. It is ASU's highest doubles ranking since the tandem of Alex Osborne and Ebony Panoho finished the 2016 season ranked 14th.
Court two's duo of Savannah Slaysman and Tereza Kolarova checked in at No. 51, and John-Baptiste also found herself on the singles ranking at 53.
Last Time Out
The Sun Devils split last weekend in Los Angeles, falling to No. 15 UCLA, 4-0 on Friday, April 14 before besting No. 41 USC, 4-3 on Saturday.
In the win against the Trojans, Senior Nicole Fossa Huergo scored the match-clinching point for the Sun Devils, defeating Becca Weissman.
The No. 21 duo of Ilze Hattingh and Lauryn John-Baptiste and doubles team Fossa Huergo and Savannah Slaysman each won their respective matches, 6-4 and 6-2, to secure the doubles point for the Sun Devils.
Also bringing in points for the Devils were Sasa Klancek and Tereza Kolarova.
Friday's match-up at UCLA saw Hattingh/John-Baptiste with their first defeat of the season, dropping the match to No. 11 Jada Hart and Terri Fleming of the Bruins.
T-Cup Update
The Sun Devils stand a point behind the Wildcats, 6 to 7, in the 2017-18 Territorial Cup Series following Arizona's victory in Beach Volleyball last night in Tempe.
This weekend is a big one for the T-Cup and could turn the tide for the Devils with home events against U of A in softball and men's tennis and the women's tennis team heading to Tucson.
With three points on the line and just a few areas of competition left, this weekend is vital for both schools' Territorial Cup dreams.
Get to Know the Wildcats
The season hasn't been what the Arizona Wildcats expected under 16th-year coach Vicky Maes as the Cats haven't earned a win in conference play this year and sit at 9-14 overall.
Although Arizona will be seeking its first conference win against bitter rival Arizona State, Maes' squad has been competitive and has unfortunately come up just short on several occasions.
After winning their first seven of nine, including a win against Wisconsin in Las Vegas, the Cats found themselves in a 2-12 spell with close defeats to Colorado and Utah on the road.
Zona has played the exact same Pac-12 schedule as the Devils, going 0-9 while ASU sits in third in the conference with a record of 6-3.
Last weekend in Los Angeles, they fell to UCLA, 4-0 and to USC, 4-0.
Arizona's last win over ASU in Tucson came in 2014.