TEMPE – The All-American duo of Lauryn John-Baptiste and Ilze Hattingh moved up one place to No. 7 in the latest Oracle/ITA doubles ranking to become the highest ranked doubles tandem in the Pac-12.
In 2019, the Devils duo sits at a perfect 3-0 on court one, including a win over No. 22 Bright/Dunk of California.
"I think they certainly had a good year last year when they played together for the first time, and they've continued that level of play so far this season," coach Sheila McInerney said. "They had a good fall with some big wins over the top-15, and they've been important for us on court one in dual matches."
Since the start of fall play, the second-year pairing is 5-2, with four wins over ranked opponents. Both losses came against ranked foes including one against current No. 3 Koch/Khmelnitckaia of Kansas in an 8-6 barn-burner in the quarterfinal at the ITA All-American Championships in Surprise.
John-Baptiste/Hattingh avenged their loss to the Jayhawks a month later at the ITA Fall National Championships.
Hattingh played without John-Baptiste once this season, but the sophomore is expected to return to the lineup this weekend against Oklahoma in Norman.
"They've won a lot of doubles matches for us and having a pair of All-Americans up there takes a little bit of pressure off of the other two courts," McInerney said. "They've really done a good job so far and hopefully they can continue to play well."
In 2019, the Devils duo sits at a perfect 3-0 on court one, including a win over No. 22 Bright/Dunk of California.
"I think they certainly had a good year last year when they played together for the first time, and they've continued that level of play so far this season," coach Sheila McInerney said. "They had a good fall with some big wins over the top-15, and they've been important for us on court one in dual matches."
Since the start of fall play, the second-year pairing is 5-2, with four wins over ranked opponents. Both losses came against ranked foes including one against current No. 3 Koch/Khmelnitckaia of Kansas in an 8-6 barn-burner in the quarterfinal at the ITA All-American Championships in Surprise.
John-Baptiste/Hattingh avenged their loss to the Jayhawks a month later at the ITA Fall National Championships.
Hattingh played without John-Baptiste once this season, but the sophomore is expected to return to the lineup this weekend against Oklahoma in Norman.
"They've won a lot of doubles matches for us and having a pair of All-Americans up there takes a little bit of pressure off of the other two courts," McInerney said. "They've really done a good job so far and hopefully they can continue to play well."