TEMPE – The Sun Devil women's tennis team returns to Whiteman Tennis Center after a tough road trip to face Cal State Fullerton on Friday, and Memphis and New Mexico State Sunday.
"It's nice to get home to some warm weather," coach Sheila McInerney said. "Last week was a little chilly, but it was good for us to play those two good matches. It's never fun to lose, but when you play two competitive matches against two good teams, your level goes up."
ASU is a combined 11-0 against its weekend opponents, with a 2-0 record against the Titans, a 2-0 advantage on the Tigers and a 7-0 record against the Aggies.
ASU's first opponent will be an unbeaten Cal State Fullerton squad that won its season opener 7-0 over UC San Diego last Wednesday. Coach Dianne Matias' women amassed 20 wins in 2018.
"For us, we're more focused on what we have to do as a team," McInerney said. "We know from here on out, every team will be a challenge. We expect good matches this weekend, and we just have to play well."
The Sun Devils have not been shy about putting some new faces into the lineup as freshman Samantha Alicea has played in all five matches so far, and Grace Koester and Julia Fisch have both appeared in two matches.
"We're going to have to lean on the younger kids a little more," McInerney said. "It's kind of all hands on deck and everyone has to be ready when we need them."
The Sunday doubleheader will be ASU's second of the season. During their last homestand, the Devils swept all three matches, including taking a double over Drake and Northern Arizona.
The doubles success from 2018 has carried over into the 2019 campaign. ASU has been successful in doubles so far this season, taking the point in four of their five matches. The only point the Devils have dropped this season was against Wake Forest.
The Titans and Devils get the weekend started Friday in Tempe at 1:30 p.m. The Sun Devil men take on Pepperdine Saturday, and the women return to the courts Sunday at 10 a.m. for Memphis before they battle New Mexico State at 2 p.m.
Rankings Update
Defending national champion Stanford held firm at No. 1 in the second poll of 2019 after sweeping to another ITA Indoor Championship berth.
The ITA Kickoff Weekend saw several teams make leaps into the top-25 after successful weekends.
Ohio State soared to No. 16 after they got out of a region and into the ITA Indoor Championships, and NC State, Syracuse and LSU also got into the championship event after knocking off regional hosts in their respective regions.
More than half of the Oracle/ITA top-25 is ACC and SEC teams. Even though No. 1 Stanford hails from the West Coast, Vanderbilt, North Carolina, Duke and Georgia Tech round out the top-five for the East Coast.
No. 8 UCLA is the only other Pac-12 program ranked in the top-25, but California and Southern Cal both received votes.
The doubles and singles rankings will be updated next month. Until then, the All-American duo of John-Baptiste/Hattingh remains at No. 8 in the nation and only Cali Jankowski is ranked in singles play for the Devils.
Last Time Out
Arizona State dropped a pair of matches during the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Columbia, South Carolina.
The Sun Devils opened the weekend slate with a matchup with a Wake Forest, the team that eliminated ASU from the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
The Demon Deacons controlled the match and defeated the Devils 4-0 to give ASU its first loss of the 2019 season.
Pac-12 rival California lost its opening round match to South Carolina, which sent them into the consolation round where they matched up with ASU.
Although ASU took the doubles point, injuries forced the Devils to make changes to the singles lineup.
Cal jumped out to leads on four courts, while Ilze Hattingh and Samantha Alicea held advantages on courts one and four.
Both Devils with leads couldn't finish their matches before the Bears locked up the match and took the win 4-1.
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 47 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.
"It's nice to get home to some warm weather," coach Sheila McInerney said. "Last week was a little chilly, but it was good for us to play those two good matches. It's never fun to lose, but when you play two competitive matches against two good teams, your level goes up."
ASU is a combined 11-0 against its weekend opponents, with a 2-0 record against the Titans, a 2-0 advantage on the Tigers and a 7-0 record against the Aggies.
ASU's first opponent will be an unbeaten Cal State Fullerton squad that won its season opener 7-0 over UC San Diego last Wednesday. Coach Dianne Matias' women amassed 20 wins in 2018.
"For us, we're more focused on what we have to do as a team," McInerney said. "We know from here on out, every team will be a challenge. We expect good matches this weekend, and we just have to play well."
The Sun Devils have not been shy about putting some new faces into the lineup as freshman Samantha Alicea has played in all five matches so far, and Grace Koester and Julia Fisch have both appeared in two matches.
"We're going to have to lean on the younger kids a little more," McInerney said. "It's kind of all hands on deck and everyone has to be ready when we need them."
The Sunday doubleheader will be ASU's second of the season. During their last homestand, the Devils swept all three matches, including taking a double over Drake and Northern Arizona.
The doubles success from 2018 has carried over into the 2019 campaign. ASU has been successful in doubles so far this season, taking the point in four of their five matches. The only point the Devils have dropped this season was against Wake Forest.
The Titans and Devils get the weekend started Friday in Tempe at 1:30 p.m. The Sun Devil men take on Pepperdine Saturday, and the women return to the courts Sunday at 10 a.m. for Memphis before they battle New Mexico State at 2 p.m.
Rankings Update
Defending national champion Stanford held firm at No. 1 in the second poll of 2019 after sweeping to another ITA Indoor Championship berth.
The ITA Kickoff Weekend saw several teams make leaps into the top-25 after successful weekends.
Ohio State soared to No. 16 after they got out of a region and into the ITA Indoor Championships, and NC State, Syracuse and LSU also got into the championship event after knocking off regional hosts in their respective regions.
More than half of the Oracle/ITA top-25 is ACC and SEC teams. Even though No. 1 Stanford hails from the West Coast, Vanderbilt, North Carolina, Duke and Georgia Tech round out the top-five for the East Coast.
No. 8 UCLA is the only other Pac-12 program ranked in the top-25, but California and Southern Cal both received votes.
The doubles and singles rankings will be updated next month. Until then, the All-American duo of John-Baptiste/Hattingh remains at No. 8 in the nation and only Cali Jankowski is ranked in singles play for the Devils.
Last Time Out
Arizona State dropped a pair of matches during the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Columbia, South Carolina.
The Sun Devils opened the weekend slate with a matchup with a Wake Forest, the team that eliminated ASU from the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
The Demon Deacons controlled the match and defeated the Devils 4-0 to give ASU its first loss of the 2019 season.
Pac-12 rival California lost its opening round match to South Carolina, which sent them into the consolation round where they matched up with ASU.
Although ASU took the doubles point, injuries forced the Devils to make changes to the singles lineup.
Cal jumped out to leads on four courts, while Ilze Hattingh and Samantha Alicea held advantages on courts one and four.
Both Devils with leads couldn't finish their matches before the Bears locked up the match and took the win 4-1.
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 47 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.