Thank you Sun Devil nation for your incredible support all season long. pic.twitter.com/QRDXdXxgLb
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) March 3, 2018
by Justin Gaither, SDA Communcations Student Intern
The 2017-18 season was a fun one for Arizona State athletics. Sure it had some heartbreak, but there were plenty of unforgettable great moments that made it yet another great year to be a Sun Devil. Let's take a look at some of the biggest wins
FOOTBALL VS. WASHINGTON (OCT. 14, 2017)
The first of such moments came Saturday, October 14 when the Arizona State football team hosted the fifth-ranked Washington Huskies. Just a few weeks removed from their upset win over No. 24 Oregon, the Sun Devils headed into their game against UW immediately just seven days after a 34-24 loss in Palo Alto. The win came behind a staunch defensive effort by the Sun Devils who held the Huskies and their Heisman hopeful quarterback Jake Browning to just 230 yards of total offense.
A Kalen Ballage 1-yard touchdown run and two Brandon Ruiz field goals gave ASU all of the offense they would need as Washington didn't get on the board until a 1-yard touchdown rush with just over five and a half minutes left to play.
Two missed field goals by the Huskies aided the Sun Devils' effort but it was Manny Wilkins' gutsy fourth down conversion with two minutes left to play that ultimately sealed the game.
Fork 'em!
— ESPN CollegeFootball (@ESPNCFB) October 15, 2017
The play that sealed @FootballASU's first win over a top-5 team in 21 years. pic.twitter.com/Bv0txmF3bV
To cap of an unbelievable night, thousands of students rushed the field following the win to celebrate one of the biggest upsets in Arizona State's history.
While the Sun Devil football season may not have ended on the highest note, the season was still viewed by many to be a success, it did after all include a win over U of A. The second win on this list was a part of a historic season for the men's basketball team.
MEN'S BASKETBALL AT KANSAS (DEC. 10, 2017)
Heading into Bobby Hurley's third season as head coach of the men's basketball Arizona State was not expected to be a great team, their growth was to be more gradual since his takeover. Apparently, he didn't get the memo…
Let's goo!!!! #ASU #Sundevils big win fellas stay #LockedIn?? https://t.co/qU9lPPgObO
— James Harden (@JHarden13) December 10, 2017
The Sun Devils got off to a blazing start beating San Diego State, Kansas State and No. 15 Xavier all within their first eight games while also capturing a Continental Tire Invitational tournament win. Hurley's squad sported an impressive 8-0 record and a No. 16 ranking heading into a matchup that before the season gave most Sun Devil fans an uneasy feeling in Lawrence, Kansas. The Jayhawks were ranked second in the nation at the time but coming off a loss against the Washington Huskies heading into the contest.
Kansas came out firing on all cylinders, taking a 15-2 lead at one point in the first half. But as the Sun Devils had been known to do, they didn't give up and they fought back, making the score Kansas 40-37 at halftime.
The second half got off to a rather pedestrian start but at about the five-minute mark in the half the Sun Devils began to take charge.
Behind a 29-point game for Tra Holder and a five-steal game for freshman Remy Martin, the Sun Devils outscored the Jayhawks by 13 in the second half to lock up a 95-85 victory and once again shock the nation by beating a top-5 opponent.
The Sun Devils would go on to finish 20-12 on the year and make the school's first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2013-14 season.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL VS. #10 OREGON STATE (MAR. 2, 2018)
The Arizona State women's basketball team closed its Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal matchup with a 13-1 run to turn a six-point deficit into a six-point win as the Sun Devils upset No. 10 Oregon State, 57-51 to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2015.
Courtney Ekmark (game-high 18 points, 5-7 3-point FGs), Kianna Ibis (14 points, career-high 14 rebounds) and Robbi Ryan (12 points, 4-8 FGs/4-4 FTs) combined to score 44 of ASU's 57 points in the game, including 26 of the team's 31 points in the second half.
.@kianna_ibis went full beast mode tonight ?? pic.twitter.com/1UT8TQrrn4
— Sun Devil WBB (@SunDevilWBB) March 3, 2018
Reili Richardson, ASU's team leader in assists, added six more against the Beavers. Richardson had only one turnover in the game, one of only six committed by ASU.
The win snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Beavers, whose two regular season wins over ASU were by a combined seven points (57-54 in Corvallis on Jan. 12 and 64-60 on Feb. 25 in Tempe).
The Sun Devils came through with a virtuoso performance on the defensive end as they opened the game by allowing the Beavers to shoot only 30 percent in the first quarter (3-10). They would then close the game by letting the Beavers connect on only 13 percent of their shots (2-15) in the fourth quarter.
HOCKEY
This next win may not be over a top-5 ranked opponent but as far as significance for the program, could be equally as impactful. Just after the new year, Arizona State's still infant hockey program took on Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech in the Ice Vegas Invitational in Las Vegas on January 6. Just a week removed from two tough losses at the Three Rivers Classic in Pittsburgh, Coach Greg Powers and his team were heavily underestimated, a role in which they have flourished in recent history.
They dominated Northern Michigan in game one of the tournament to the tune of a 7-3 victory behind two goals from graduate transfer Gage Hough. The win cleared a path to the championship where the Sun Devils would take on the Michigan Tech Huskies who were coming off an impressive win over Boston College. Once again; however, they were poised and ready as they jumped on the Huskies early and protected their lead for a 3-2 win and the program's first ever tournament win.
While their record of 8-21-5 may not mean much to most, the Arizona State hockey program has grown leaps and bounds and if any proof is needed, this tournament win serves as great evidence of the immense growth the program has seen in just three years.
LACROSSE
In keeping with the theme of huge program wins, the next win on this list took place just a month later but on the other side of the country in Kennesaw, Georgia.
In their inaugural season, the Arizona State women's lacrosse program began their existence on a five-game road trip. The first of those games came against the Kennesaw State Owls on February 9. The Sun Devils would start their program out with a bang, capturing a 14-6 win behind seven goals from redshirt sophomore Kerri Clayton.
ASU would go on to win four of their first five games on the road before winning their home opener over Presbyterian to start out the season with a 5-1 record heading into conference play.
While experienced growing pains, as is to be expected for a first-year team playing in the Pac-12, the incredible start was certainly one to remember for the program and Sun Devil fans.
Former national champion Courtney Martinez Connor has @SunDevilWLax off to a hot start. #NCAAWLAXhttps://t.co/J0qAgUkDg6
— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) March 2, 2018
WRESTLING
The spring semester saw a lot of success for Arizona State Athletics, including this next win which wasn't just a win, but a national championship. On March 17, the ASU wrestling team headed to Cleveland to take part in the NCAA championships. While the team placed tenth overall in the country with 43 points, one wrestler in particular made history.
Redshirt sophomore Zahid Valencia competed for the 174-pound weight class national championship against Mark Hall of Penn State.
Valencia already beat Hall once during the season by a score of 3-2 at the NWCA All-Star Classic, and their match for the national championship would differ only in the score because Zahid won 5-2 this time to become ASU's first national champion since Anthony Robles and Bubba Jenkins both won in 2011.
MEN'S GOLF (APRIL 14-15)
The next win on this list took place a month later but on a very different stage. The men's golf team hosted the Thunderbird invitational at Karsten Golf Course in Tempe. At the time, the Sun Devils had two wins on the season, the Maui Jim Invitational -- led by an incredible performance on the final day courtesy of Alex del Rey -- and the Bandon Dunes Invitational where they shot 28-under par. This tournament would pose a new challenge, and that was the opponents they would take on.
The top ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys rolled into Tempe that weekend riding a seven-tournament winning streak and the reigning national champion Oklahoma Sooners were also in attendance.
That didn't affect the hometown team, though, as the Sun Devils clinched the tournament in heroic fashion on the last hole to beat UNLV by just one stroke and Oklahoma State and Oklahoma by five strokes and four strokes respectively.
Sophomore Blake Wagoner stepped up big, shooting 8-under and finishing fourth and helping his team secure their third win of the season on the way to a NCAA championships trip.
We head to the @pac12 championships with three tournament titles on the year. We want 6. Read all about our Thunderbird title here ... https://t.co/FtD8GRMC9l
— Sun Devil Men's Golf (@sundevilmgolf) April 16, 2018
MEN'S SWIM/DIVE VS. NO. 2 TEXAS (JAN. 26, 2017)
Defeating the 13-time National Champion Texas Longhorns wasn't a problem for the Sun Devil men.
ASU got off on the right foot from the beginning, with the foursome of Zach Poti, Christian Lorenz, Andrew Porter and Cameron Craig teaming up to take first in the 200 medley relay. That victory gave the Devils the much needed momentum to build early cushion, as ASU took the top spot in the next five individual events.
The men won seven of the 12 individual events, including victories by Lorenz (100 BR, 200BR) and Poti (100BK, 200BK).
Down to the wire in the end, the Sun Devils were ahead by just 15 points heading in the 200 free relay. ASU sent their "A" squad of Craig, Porter, Evan Carlson and Patrick Park to the block and the group came through with a victory to secure a crucial 11 points. The "B" squad picked up two points to claim the eventual 162-138 win for ASU.
SOFTBALL VS. #1 UCLA/WASHINGTON
The final wins on this list bring things full circle so to speak. It started out with two wins over top-5 teams and it ends with two massive wins over the, at the time, top ranked teams in the country. The ASU softball team, inspired by the great seasons of other Sun Devil teams, first hosted the top-ranked Washington Huskies in mid-March in a series the Sun Devils would go on to win and then went into Los Angeles in early May where they would upset the number one team in the country in the UCLA Bruins.
Washington was the first club the Sun Devils faced in Pac-12 play this past season. The Sun Devils were riding a hot streak heading into conference play, winning 12 of their last 13 out of conference games.
That carried into the weekend series in a big way as Giselle "G" Juarez pitched a three-hit gem on Friday night to allow the Sun Devils to coast to a 2-0 win.
The Huskies came back with a vengeance in game two which forced the series to a crucial rubber match on Sunday to decide the series. It was once again Juarez who pitched a gem, holding the confident Huskies to just four hits all game en route to yet another 2-0 victory.
This was a great way to start the Pac-12 season for Arizona State softball who would keep rolling all the way through the star-studded conference until they met with yet another team ranked number one, this time, on the road.
The young team led by first year coach Trisha Ford, the ASU softball team had already shocked the nation a few times with their resiliency, but the weekend of May 10 was a little bit different.
The Sun Devils were riding a six-game Pac 12 winning streak heading into their bout with the top-ranked Bruins and they kept that momentum going in game one of the series.
The sophomore phenom pitcher G Juarez absolutely dealt holding the Bruins to just 3 hits and no runs while striking out nine to notch a complete game, shutout victory.
As far as offense, the Sun Devils scored three runs on Rachel Garcia to hand her just her second loss of the season. A Marissa Stankiewicz three-run home run in the top of the fourth inning would be all of the offence in the game as ASU topped UCLA by a final score of 3-0.
The season wouldn't peak their; however, as Ford led the Sun Devils all the way back to Oklahoma City where they were eliminated by Oklahoma to end a Cinderella-story type run.