TEMPE – Tennis returns to Tempe this weekend as the Sun Devil women's tennis squad welcomes three opponents to the Whiteman Tennis Center to open the 2019 season.
Saturday will mark the start to the 2019 season as the UC Davis Aggies and Drake Bulldogs challenge ASU in an opening day double-header starting at 10 a.m. MST.
"Opening the season is always exciting," head coach Sheila McInerney said. "It should be a good start to the season against some teams we have a connection with. We usually play UC Davis every other year, and Drake's head coach has some local ties, so we're happy to welcome them in for a double-header to get the season started."
UC Davis will take on the Devils in the first matchup of the season. The Aggies' side is one that is familiar to the Devils as they last hosted UC Davis in 2017. While only two active Sun Devils took part in the 7-0 win to start the 2017 season, four of UC Davis' top-six from a season ago made the last trip to Tempe.
Overall, ASU has dominated the series against their Northern California foes, winning all 10 of the previous meetings.
Although the sample size is small for ASU's second opponent, the Devils still have a perfect record against the Bulldogs. ASU defeated Drake in Tempe in their only previous meeting.
"We've got to take care of the first two on Saturday, we'll hit around a little on Sunday and then come back to play a good NAU team on Monday," McInerney said. "Their No. 1 doubles team has beaten us the past two years, their No. 1 player has beaten a couple of our kids, so we expect them to be formidable for sure."
Coming down from Flagstaff, NAU will take on the Devils for the eighth-consecutive year. While NAU has taken a handful of points from ASU in their last few tussles, McInerney's Devils have swept the Lumberjacks five times since 2010.
ASU will look to get their season off to a hot start by claiming the doubles point with help from an All-American tandem on court one.
Sophomore Lauryn John-Baptiste and junior Ilze Hattingh lead the line for ASU coming into the season ranked eighth in the nation. The duo advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals in their first season as partners and put together a 16-1 regular season record that included a run of 18-straight outings without a loss.
Also returning for the Sun Devils this season are sophomores Sasa Klanecek and Tereza Kolarvoa, as well as juniors Savannah Slaysman and Sammi Hampton.
Hampton missed all of last season due to an offseason injury, but is expected to make a return to the lineup this spring.
As for newcomers, highly-touted freshman Cali Jankowski will miss the season-opener, but freshmen Grace Koester and Samantha Alicea will be available along with sophomore walk-on Julia Fisch.
The Sun Devils' quest to a 32nd-straight NCAA Tournament begins this Saturday at the Whiteman Tennis Center. Admission to both the 10 a.m. UC Davis match and 2 p.m. Drake match is free. UC Davis and NAU will play Sunday at 11 a.m., and ASU will host the Lumberjacks Monday at 11 a.m.
Fans attending Sunday's match will have to follow an alternate route when arriving at the Whiteman Tennis Center because of street closures due to the Rock 'N' Roll Marathon. Information regarding street closures can be found here.
Live results will be made available on matchday and a full recap will be available on thesundevils.com following the completion of the matches.
Saturday will mark the start to the 2019 season as the UC Davis Aggies and Drake Bulldogs challenge ASU in an opening day double-header starting at 10 a.m. MST.
"Opening the season is always exciting," head coach Sheila McInerney said. "It should be a good start to the season against some teams we have a connection with. We usually play UC Davis every other year, and Drake's head coach has some local ties, so we're happy to welcome them in for a double-header to get the season started."
UC Davis will take on the Devils in the first matchup of the season. The Aggies' side is one that is familiar to the Devils as they last hosted UC Davis in 2017. While only two active Sun Devils took part in the 7-0 win to start the 2017 season, four of UC Davis' top-six from a season ago made the last trip to Tempe.
Overall, ASU has dominated the series against their Northern California foes, winning all 10 of the previous meetings.
Although the sample size is small for ASU's second opponent, the Devils still have a perfect record against the Bulldogs. ASU defeated Drake in Tempe in their only previous meeting.
"We've got to take care of the first two on Saturday, we'll hit around a little on Sunday and then come back to play a good NAU team on Monday," McInerney said. "Their No. 1 doubles team has beaten us the past two years, their No. 1 player has beaten a couple of our kids, so we expect them to be formidable for sure."
Coming down from Flagstaff, NAU will take on the Devils for the eighth-consecutive year. While NAU has taken a handful of points from ASU in their last few tussles, McInerney's Devils have swept the Lumberjacks five times since 2010.
ASU will look to get their season off to a hot start by claiming the doubles point with help from an All-American tandem on court one.
Sophomore Lauryn John-Baptiste and junior Ilze Hattingh lead the line for ASU coming into the season ranked eighth in the nation. The duo advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals in their first season as partners and put together a 16-1 regular season record that included a run of 18-straight outings without a loss.
Also returning for the Sun Devils this season are sophomores Sasa Klanecek and Tereza Kolarvoa, as well as juniors Savannah Slaysman and Sammi Hampton.
Hampton missed all of last season due to an offseason injury, but is expected to make a return to the lineup this spring.
As for newcomers, highly-touted freshman Cali Jankowski will miss the season-opener, but freshmen Grace Koester and Samantha Alicea will be available along with sophomore walk-on Julia Fisch.
The Sun Devils' quest to a 32nd-straight NCAA Tournament begins this Saturday at the Whiteman Tennis Center. Admission to both the 10 a.m. UC Davis match and 2 p.m. Drake match is free. UC Davis and NAU will play Sunday at 11 a.m., and ASU will host the Lumberjacks Monday at 11 a.m.
Fans attending Sunday's match will have to follow an alternate route when arriving at the Whiteman Tennis Center because of street closures due to the Rock 'N' Roll Marathon. Information regarding street closures can be found here.
Live results will be made available on matchday and a full recap will be available on thesundevils.com following the completion of the matches.