TEMPE – Arizona State women's tennis started its 2019 season with two perfect results when the Sun Devils swept the UC Davis Aggies (0-1) and the Drake Bulldogs (0-2) Saturday at the Whiteman Tennis Center.
"I think it was a good way for us to start," head coach Sheila McInerney said. "Two wins in one day is always nice. I think we played a little bit better in the second match than the first because I think there are always some first match jitters."
The Devils (2-0) lifted the lid on the season Saturday morning as they welcomed the Aggies.
A couple of new names were added into the doubles lineup for the first game, but one duo from last season remained the same in court one's All-American tandem of No. 8 Lauryn John-Baptiste and Ilze Hattingh.
Their form from a season ago carried over into the first match as they handled the Davis duo of Bryant/Tsukamoto. Their 6-1 win on court one was quickly followed by another 6-1 win on court two by Slaysman/Alicea that gave ASU the 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
John-Baptiste kept her place on court one and Hattingh remained on court two. Kolarova moved up to three while Slaysman occupied court four, and newcomers Alicea and Julia Fisch made their Sun Devil debuts on courts five and six, respectively.
The newcomer Fisch got ASU's first singles win of the season. She blanked Kelsie Bryant in the first set, then only dropped one game in the second set for a 6-0, 6-1 sweep of the Aggie junior.
Kolarova pushed the Devils' lead to 3-0 when she defeated Shirley Hall 6-3, 6-1 on court three, and Arizona's own Slaysman swept Jessica Walker 6-0, 6-4 to clinch ASU's first win of the 2019 season.
Match two against Drake was more of the same for ASU.
"I think we played a little bit better in the afternoon than we did in the morning," associate head coach Matt Langley said. "That's kind of expected when you haven't played matches since November, but I think the team handled the first day of a big weekend very well."
Slaysman's success carried over into the doubles matches against the Bulldogs as she and Alicea took care of the young pairing of Palumbo/Walczak 6-3. Kolarova had a new partner in Sasa Klanecek, but the two sophomores got the job done and clinched the doubles point for ASU with a 6-3 win.
Once again, court six singles was the first match to wrap up, but this time McInerney sent true freshman Grace Koester onto the court. The Paradise Valley native handled her collegiate debut with ease, winning 6-1, 6-0.
The other two points came from the even courts when Kolarova notched her second win of the young season on court four, and John-Baptiste picked up her first win of the season on court two.
"I think the kids will be a little bit tired after today, so we'll let them recover, hit a little bit tomorrow and get ready to play a good NAU team on Monday," McInerney said.
The Sun Devils will cede the Whiteman Tennis Center to UC Davis and NAU for a neutral site match Sunday, but return to action Monday against the Lumberjacks at 11 a.m.
"I think it was a good way for us to start," head coach Sheila McInerney said. "Two wins in one day is always nice. I think we played a little bit better in the second match than the first because I think there are always some first match jitters."
The Devils (2-0) lifted the lid on the season Saturday morning as they welcomed the Aggies.
A couple of new names were added into the doubles lineup for the first game, but one duo from last season remained the same in court one's All-American tandem of No. 8 Lauryn John-Baptiste and Ilze Hattingh.
Their form from a season ago carried over into the first match as they handled the Davis duo of Bryant/Tsukamoto. Their 6-1 win on court one was quickly followed by another 6-1 win on court two by Slaysman/Alicea that gave ASU the 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
John-Baptiste kept her place on court one and Hattingh remained on court two. Kolarova moved up to three while Slaysman occupied court four, and newcomers Alicea and Julia Fisch made their Sun Devil debuts on courts five and six, respectively.
The newcomer Fisch got ASU's first singles win of the season. She blanked Kelsie Bryant in the first set, then only dropped one game in the second set for a 6-0, 6-1 sweep of the Aggie junior.
Kolarova pushed the Devils' lead to 3-0 when she defeated Shirley Hall 6-3, 6-1 on court three, and Arizona's own Slaysman swept Jessica Walker 6-0, 6-4 to clinch ASU's first win of the 2019 season.
Match two against Drake was more of the same for ASU.
"I think we played a little bit better in the afternoon than we did in the morning," associate head coach Matt Langley said. "That's kind of expected when you haven't played matches since November, but I think the team handled the first day of a big weekend very well."
Slaysman's success carried over into the doubles matches against the Bulldogs as she and Alicea took care of the young pairing of Palumbo/Walczak 6-3. Kolarova had a new partner in Sasa Klanecek, but the two sophomores got the job done and clinched the doubles point for ASU with a 6-3 win.
Once again, court six singles was the first match to wrap up, but this time McInerney sent true freshman Grace Koester onto the court. The Paradise Valley native handled her collegiate debut with ease, winning 6-1, 6-0.
The other two points came from the even courts when Kolarova notched her second win of the young season on court four, and John-Baptiste picked up her first win of the season on court two.
"I think the kids will be a little bit tired after today, so we'll let them recover, hit a little bit tomorrow and get ready to play a good NAU team on Monday," McInerney said.
The Sun Devils will cede the Whiteman Tennis Center to UC Davis and NAU for a neutral site match Sunday, but return to action Monday against the Lumberjacks at 11 a.m.