TEMPE, Ariz. – Sun Devil women's tennis went toe-to-toe with the No. 11 Ohio State Buckeyes in a match that came down to the last point, ultimately dropping the match, 4-3 on Saturday afternoon.
ASU looked unfazed by the rain-canceled match yesterday, coming out firing on all cylinders against the Buckeyes in doubles. All three matches were tied at 1-1 early on, but the Sun Devils quickly took leads on all three courts and never looked back.
The pair of Samantha Alicea/Sammi Hampton took the victory first to the tune of a 6-2 win. The tandem put the Sun Devils on the advantage, and the No. 6 ranked Lauryn John-Baptiste/Ilze Hattingh clinched the first point for ASU with a win on court one, 6-4 for their fifth win as a tandem on the season.
"They've been great for us because that pair they played are really good for Ohio State and they've had some good wins," coach Sheila McInerney said. "Sammi and Sam played really well, too, to get off the court quickly, which helps."
Ohio State tied things up at one with a win on court five, but Hattingh didn't let the tie last for long. The junior took a highly competitive first set, 6-3, and took her second set by the same score after taking an early lead and maintaining it until the end.
"It was great because to Ilze's credit, she lost to that girl last year 6-3, 6-3, so the fact that she came out and beat her in straight sets was amazing," McInerney said. "She's been playing really well and she has a lot of energy for us."
However, the Buckeyes took wins on courts two and four to pull to a 3-2 lead, leaving Tereza Kolarova and Alicea still in action. Alicea took a long first set 7-5, and took an easy 6-4 victory in her second set to secure her second win of the season. The win again tied the score, this time at 3-3.
"Sam played well down at six because it was her first big match and it was important for her to win," McInerney said. "It wasn't easy, but she pulled through really well for us."
The match came down to Kolarova on three, who battled against No. 48 Kolie Allen of Ohio State. The Czech international dropped her first set 6-3, won her second set 6-4, then stayed competitive until the end.
Kolarova was down 1-0, then down 3-2, fighting to a 3-3 tie late in the affair. The third set was back-and-forth between the Sun Devil and the Buckeye as the Sun Devil went down 5-3, but scored two straight points from 30-all to take the game. Down 5-4, 40-30, OSU took the game point to secure the 4-3 Buckeye victory.
"Terka lost the first set, so to bounce back to take that second set to give herself a chance to win it in three sets is really all you can ask for as a coach," McInerney said. "She did that, but she unfortunately just came up a little short."
Sun Devil women's tennis is back in action for Pac-12 play this upcoming weekend. ASU welcomes the LA schools for a Friday-Saturday matchup, and fans can keep up with the action all season long by following @SunDevilWTennis on Twitter.
ASU looked unfazed by the rain-canceled match yesterday, coming out firing on all cylinders against the Buckeyes in doubles. All three matches were tied at 1-1 early on, but the Sun Devils quickly took leads on all three courts and never looked back.
The pair of Samantha Alicea/Sammi Hampton took the victory first to the tune of a 6-2 win. The tandem put the Sun Devils on the advantage, and the No. 6 ranked Lauryn John-Baptiste/Ilze Hattingh clinched the first point for ASU with a win on court one, 6-4 for their fifth win as a tandem on the season.
"They've been great for us because that pair they played are really good for Ohio State and they've had some good wins," coach Sheila McInerney said. "Sammi and Sam played really well, too, to get off the court quickly, which helps."
Ohio State tied things up at one with a win on court five, but Hattingh didn't let the tie last for long. The junior took a highly competitive first set, 6-3, and took her second set by the same score after taking an early lead and maintaining it until the end.
"It was great because to Ilze's credit, she lost to that girl last year 6-3, 6-3, so the fact that she came out and beat her in straight sets was amazing," McInerney said. "She's been playing really well and she has a lot of energy for us."
However, the Buckeyes took wins on courts two and four to pull to a 3-2 lead, leaving Tereza Kolarova and Alicea still in action. Alicea took a long first set 7-5, and took an easy 6-4 victory in her second set to secure her second win of the season. The win again tied the score, this time at 3-3.
"Sam played well down at six because it was her first big match and it was important for her to win," McInerney said. "It wasn't easy, but she pulled through really well for us."
The match came down to Kolarova on three, who battled against No. 48 Kolie Allen of Ohio State. The Czech international dropped her first set 6-3, won her second set 6-4, then stayed competitive until the end.
Kolarova was down 1-0, then down 3-2, fighting to a 3-3 tie late in the affair. The third set was back-and-forth between the Sun Devil and the Buckeye as the Sun Devil went down 5-3, but scored two straight points from 30-all to take the game. Down 5-4, 40-30, OSU took the game point to secure the 4-3 Buckeye victory.
"Terka lost the first set, so to bounce back to take that second set to give herself a chance to win it in three sets is really all you can ask for as a coach," McInerney said. "She did that, but she unfortunately just came up a little short."
Sun Devil women's tennis is back in action for Pac-12 play this upcoming weekend. ASU welcomes the LA schools for a Friday-Saturday matchup, and fans can keep up with the action all season long by following @SunDevilWTennis on Twitter.