COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Sun Devils' ITA Kickoff Weekend came to a close on a low note Sunday as Arizona State (3-2) dropped a consolation match with Pac-12 rival California, 4-1, in Columbia, South Carolina.
"It's certainly no fun to lose, but I thought our team battled well today under tough circumstances," coach Sheila McInerney said.
The Devils started on the right foot Sunday morning at the Carolina Tennis Center when they took the doubles point from the Golden Bears (2-1) with wins on courts one and two.
Kolarova/Klanecek and Slaysman/Alicea swapped courts after Saturday's matches, and the move up to court two worked out for Kolarova/Klanecek as they handled Hauger/Rosenqvist, 6-3. As for Slaysman/Fisch, Mraz/Stloukalova managed to stifle any chance of a Sun Devil comeback, so it came down to court one.
The court one matchup between No. 8 John-Baptiste/Hattingh and No. 17 Bright/Dunk was the Sun Devil duo's first chance to grab a win over a ranked opponent in 2019.
They did just that as they knocked off Bright/Dunk in a back-and-forth 7-5 win that clinched the point and sent the Devils into singles play with an advantage.
ASU was without two important pieces during the singles battles as usual No. 1 Lauryn John-Baptiste as well as Sasa Klanecek sat out and made way for newcomers Julia Fisch and Grace Koester.
"We played well to win the doubles point, but unfortunately we had to pull Lauryn and Sasa from the singles lineup as they both had relapses from previous injuries and the cold weather may have been a factor," McInerney said.
The late moves meant a shift in the lineup that put Ilze Hattingh on court one, Tereza Kolarova on two, Savannah Slaysman on three, Samantha Alicea on four and Fisch and Koester on five and six, respectively.
"I thought Julia and Grace did a nice job replacing them not knowing they would have to played until right up to the time they went on the court," McInerney said.
Cal turned the tides on ASU in singles play, winning on six and five within minutes of one another and taking court three soon after.
On court four, Alicea was one game into the third set with Katerina Stloukalova, and Ilze Hattingh was one game away from sweeping No. 47 Julia Rosenqvist on court one.
Kolarova couldn't manage to overcome No. 35 Olivia Hauger on court three and the Devils dropped their second match of the weekend.
ASU will take on California again later in the season in Berkeley during Pac-12 play.
Up next for the Sun Devils is a return to the Whiteman Tennis Center for a weekend slate against Cal State Fullerton, Memphis and New Mexico State.
"It's certainly no fun to lose, but I thought our team battled well today under tough circumstances," coach Sheila McInerney said.
The Devils started on the right foot Sunday morning at the Carolina Tennis Center when they took the doubles point from the Golden Bears (2-1) with wins on courts one and two.
Kolarova/Klanecek and Slaysman/Alicea swapped courts after Saturday's matches, and the move up to court two worked out for Kolarova/Klanecek as they handled Hauger/Rosenqvist, 6-3. As for Slaysman/Fisch, Mraz/Stloukalova managed to stifle any chance of a Sun Devil comeback, so it came down to court one.
The court one matchup between No. 8 John-Baptiste/Hattingh and No. 17 Bright/Dunk was the Sun Devil duo's first chance to grab a win over a ranked opponent in 2019.
They did just that as they knocked off Bright/Dunk in a back-and-forth 7-5 win that clinched the point and sent the Devils into singles play with an advantage.
ASU was without two important pieces during the singles battles as usual No. 1 Lauryn John-Baptiste as well as Sasa Klanecek sat out and made way for newcomers Julia Fisch and Grace Koester.
"We played well to win the doubles point, but unfortunately we had to pull Lauryn and Sasa from the singles lineup as they both had relapses from previous injuries and the cold weather may have been a factor," McInerney said.
The late moves meant a shift in the lineup that put Ilze Hattingh on court one, Tereza Kolarova on two, Savannah Slaysman on three, Samantha Alicea on four and Fisch and Koester on five and six, respectively.
"I thought Julia and Grace did a nice job replacing them not knowing they would have to played until right up to the time they went on the court," McInerney said.
Cal turned the tides on ASU in singles play, winning on six and five within minutes of one another and taking court three soon after.
On court four, Alicea was one game into the third set with Katerina Stloukalova, and Ilze Hattingh was one game away from sweeping No. 47 Julia Rosenqvist on court one.
Kolarova couldn't manage to overcome No. 35 Olivia Hauger on court three and the Devils dropped their second match of the weekend.
ASU will take on California again later in the season in Berkeley during Pac-12 play.
Up next for the Sun Devils is a return to the Whiteman Tennis Center for a weekend slate against Cal State Fullerton, Memphis and New Mexico State.
A difficult 2 matches for us this weekend but despite the losses these tough matches will help us as we move forward.