TEMPE – The Sun Devil women's tennis team is off to the great state of Oklahoma to take on the Sooners in Norman Saturday.
The Devils roll into Norman fresh off a 6-1 home win over Cal State Fullerton last weekend. ASU was scheduled to play two more matches to get primed for their road trip into Big 12 country, but both were canceled due to inclement weather.
"The level is going to be the same as when we went to South Carolina for the kickoff weekend," associate head coach Matt Langley said. "We'll have to make sure that everyone is in the right mindset and ready to play to their best tennis because that's what it'll take to win there."
ASU's match against the Sooners will be the Sun Devils' first true road test of the season as their only other duals away from Tempe have been neutral site contests against Wake Forest and California in Columbia, South Carolina.
Oklahoma has only suffered one defeat this season, which came at the hands of No. 2 Vanderbilt at the Commodore stomping grounds in January.
"OU had a 4-3 loss to Vanderbilt who lost in the final last year, so they've proven they can play," Langley said. "Oklahoma has a couple of new players that sat out last year but are playing at the top of their lineup this year, so they're much improved from where they were last year."
The Sun Devils hold the advantage in the series against the Sooners as they've won both of their previous meetings. The pair of matchups both took place in 2013, and ASU ran away with a couple of wins. The Devils won the first meeting with the Sooners, 5-2, in a clash in Coral Gables, Florida, during the ITA Kickoff Weekend. The rematch during the 2013 NCAA Championships was more of the same as ASU walked away with a 4-1 victory in Athens, Georgia.
Lauryn John-Baptiste is expected to return to action after being sidelined last weekend. The addition of the 2018 All-American will mean the return of the No. 7 doubles tandem in the nation in John-Baptiste/Hattingh on court one. They'll likely face the Sooners' court one duo, newly ranked No. 51 Romero/Cappuro.
The match in Norman will get underway bright and early at 9 a.m., MST. Live results and a live stream can be found on the Oklahoma athletics website.
Magnificent No. 7
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.
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.
Last Time Out
The Sun Devil women's tennis squad dismantled the Cal State Fullerton Titans in its return to the Whiteman Tennis Center last weekend.
ASU was scheduled to also face the Memphis Tigers and New Mexico State Aggies, but rain and inadequate court conditions forced both matches to be canceled Sunday.
Friday's match went off without a hitch though as the Devils cruised to a 6-1 win over the Titans.
Redshirt-junior Sammi Hampton got her first spring victory in more than a year when she won in three sets on court five. Hampton missed all of last season with a knee injury and missed the start of 2019 with a wrist injury.
The Devils were without the All-American doubles duo of John-Baptiste/Hattingh on court one with John-Baptiste out of the lineup, but ASU didn't need help from court one as Alicea/Slaysman and Hampton/Fisch got quick wins on two and three.
Ilze Hattingh got a singles win on court one, Samantha Alicea won on court four and Tereza Kolarova put the match away with a win on two. Court three and five were played out though, and Savannah Slaysman and Hampton both got wins.
Home, Sweet Home
The Whiteman Tennis Center has been a fortress for the Sun Devils in recent years.
The Sun Devil women's team has picked up 48 wins while dropping only three matches in the past six years during non-conference play at Whiteman.
Last year, ASU won every non-conference match at home and dropped one home match overall to eventual national champion Stanford.
Of the three non-conference losses since 2011, two have been to Ohio State, who returns to Tempe later this season, and the other came against then No. 9 Pepperdine, who the Devils will visit this season in Malibu.
In 2019, ASU has six more home non-conference matches, including battles against TCU, Ohio State and Denver.
Overall, ASU has 12 matches in the comfy confines of the Whiteman Tennis Center, including visits from Southern Cal and UCLA, and the school down south to wrap up the season.
The Devils roll into Norman fresh off a 6-1 home win over Cal State Fullerton last weekend. ASU was scheduled to play two more matches to get primed for their road trip into Big 12 country, but both were canceled due to inclement weather.
"The level is going to be the same as when we went to South Carolina for the kickoff weekend," associate head coach Matt Langley said. "We'll have to make sure that everyone is in the right mindset and ready to play to their best tennis because that's what it'll take to win there."
ASU's match against the Sooners will be the Sun Devils' first true road test of the season as their only other duals away from Tempe have been neutral site contests against Wake Forest and California in Columbia, South Carolina.
Oklahoma has only suffered one defeat this season, which came at the hands of No. 2 Vanderbilt at the Commodore stomping grounds in January.
"OU had a 4-3 loss to Vanderbilt who lost in the final last year, so they've proven they can play," Langley said. "Oklahoma has a couple of new players that sat out last year but are playing at the top of their lineup this year, so they're much improved from where they were last year."
The Sun Devils hold the advantage in the series against the Sooners as they've won both of their previous meetings. The pair of matchups both took place in 2013, and ASU ran away with a couple of wins. The Devils won the first meeting with the Sooners, 5-2, in a clash in Coral Gables, Florida, during the ITA Kickoff Weekend. The rematch during the 2013 NCAA Championships was more of the same as ASU walked away with a 4-1 victory in Athens, Georgia.
Lauryn John-Baptiste is expected to return to action after being sidelined last weekend. The addition of the 2018 All-American will mean the return of the No. 7 doubles tandem in the nation in John-Baptiste/Hattingh on court one. They'll likely face the Sooners' court one duo, newly ranked No. 51 Romero/Cappuro.
The match in Norman will get underway bright and early at 9 a.m., MST. Live results and a live stream can be found on the Oklahoma athletics website.
Magnificent No. 7
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.
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.
Last Time Out
The Sun Devil women's tennis squad dismantled the Cal State Fullerton Titans in its return to the Whiteman Tennis Center last weekend.
ASU was scheduled to also face the Memphis Tigers and New Mexico State Aggies, but rain and inadequate court conditions forced both matches to be canceled Sunday.
Friday's match went off without a hitch though as the Devils cruised to a 6-1 win over the Titans.
Redshirt-junior Sammi Hampton got her first spring victory in more than a year when she won in three sets on court five. Hampton missed all of last season with a knee injury and missed the start of 2019 with a wrist injury.
The Devils were without the All-American doubles duo of John-Baptiste/Hattingh on court one with John-Baptiste out of the lineup, but ASU didn't need help from court one as Alicea/Slaysman and Hampton/Fisch got quick wins on two and three.
Ilze Hattingh got a singles win on court one, Samantha Alicea won on court four and Tereza Kolarova put the match away with a win on two. Court three and five were played out though, and Savannah Slaysman and Hampton both got wins.
Home, Sweet Home
The Whiteman Tennis Center has been a fortress for the Sun Devils in recent years.
The Sun Devil women's team has picked up 48 wins while dropping only three matches in the past six years during non-conference play at Whiteman.
Last year, ASU won every non-conference match at home and dropped one home match overall to eventual national champion Stanford.
Of the three non-conference losses since 2011, two have been to Ohio State, who returns to Tempe later this season, and the other came against then No. 9 Pepperdine, who the Devils will visit this season in Malibu.
In 2019, ASU has six more home non-conference matches, including battles against TCU, Ohio State and Denver.
Overall, ASU has 12 matches in the comfy confines of the Whiteman Tennis Center, including visits from Southern Cal and UCLA, and the school down south to wrap up the season.