COLUMBIA, S.C. – In a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament opener, the Sun Devils (3-1) fell to Wake Forest (3-0) Saturday in Columbia, South Carolina, as a part of the ITA Kickoff Weekend.
"It was a tough day at the office for sure," coach Sheila McInerney said. "We knew Wake Forest would be very good, and they were, so credit to them."
The Demon Deacons got off to a good start when they took the doubles point from the Devils by winning on courts two and three. ASU was in the driver's seat on court one, but No. 8 John-Baptiste/Hattingh couldn't work fast enough to take down Wake's top doubles duo.
Singles didn't start ideally for the Devils as Wake Forest took one-set leads on five of the six courts. A few Sun Devils turned things around in the second set though, as Ilze Hattingh won her second set 6-3, and Sasa Klanecek was up 1-0 in the third set after flipping the script in the second.
"I felt we let the doubles point slip and then really got off to a rocky start in the singles, which was disappointing," McInerney said. "Even though the score was 4-0, I was happy with the way we rebounded to win the second sets on Ilze and Sasa's courts."
Tereza Kolarova was cruising on court three. She was the only Devil on the day to win the opening set, and she was set to lock down a point for the Devils, up 5-3 in the second set, but the match ended before she got a chance to record the win.
"The momentum was turning for us, but not quite enough," McInerney said. "Terka played very well and was at match point when the match finished, so I'm happy with her play."
The Sun Devils' weekend isn't over yet, though. ASU will take on Pac-12 rival California in Columbia at 9 a.m., Sunday in a consolation match.
"We have a tough Cal team tomorrow, so we will need to rebound quickly," McInerney said.
"It was a tough day at the office for sure," coach Sheila McInerney said. "We knew Wake Forest would be very good, and they were, so credit to them."
The Demon Deacons got off to a good start when they took the doubles point from the Devils by winning on courts two and three. ASU was in the driver's seat on court one, but No. 8 John-Baptiste/Hattingh couldn't work fast enough to take down Wake's top doubles duo.
Singles didn't start ideally for the Devils as Wake Forest took one-set leads on five of the six courts. A few Sun Devils turned things around in the second set though, as Ilze Hattingh won her second set 6-3, and Sasa Klanecek was up 1-0 in the third set after flipping the script in the second.
"I felt we let the doubles point slip and then really got off to a rocky start in the singles, which was disappointing," McInerney said. "Even though the score was 4-0, I was happy with the way we rebounded to win the second sets on Ilze and Sasa's courts."
Tereza Kolarova was cruising on court three. She was the only Devil on the day to win the opening set, and she was set to lock down a point for the Devils, up 5-3 in the second set, but the match ended before she got a chance to record the win.
"The momentum was turning for us, but not quite enough," McInerney said. "Terka played very well and was at match point when the match finished, so I'm happy with her play."
The Sun Devils' weekend isn't over yet, though. ASU will take on Pac-12 rival California in Columbia at 9 a.m., Sunday in a consolation match.
"We have a tough Cal team tomorrow, so we will need to rebound quickly," McInerney said.