TEMPE – After knocking off No. 42 Denver, No. 1 John-Baptiste/Hattingh and the Sun Devil women's tennis team jump back into Pac-12 play this weekend as the Ducks of Oregon come to Tempe this Sunday.
"At this point in the season, what's most important for us is taking care of things on our side of the court," coach Sheila McInerney said. "We had a couple of days off this week and we're focused on recovery, but we're doing what we can to make sure we're ready for Sunday."
The Devils' penultimate Pac-12 matchup brings in a Ducks team whose winless Pac-12 record only tells half the story. Oregon has scored two points against No. 17 Cal and 13 Southern California, and also picked up a point on a tough 10th-ranked UCLA team.
Oregon did pick up the win over a shorthanded Devils team up in Eugene back in 2018, sweeping ASU 4-0.
"They really took it to us up in Eugene last year, so it's good to have them come down to Tempe this year" McInerney said. "Even though it's at home, we still know we're going to have to play well because Oregon is still a good team and in this conference you have to be on your toes every week."
As the regular season comes to a close, the Sun Devils need one more win to guarantee a finish above .500 for the 25th-straight season. ASU needs to finish above .500 to qualify for the NCAA Tournament and keep the nation's fifth-longest participation streak alive at 32 years.
"It's no secret that every match is really important for us at this point in the season, but we're not looking ahead," McInerney said. "It's a crucial time, but we can't get caught up in that. We have to focus on the team in front of us."
Along with the No. 1 doubles team in the nation, the Devils will also put No. 54 Alicea/Hampton onto the courts as well, and Lauryn John-Baptiste and Ilze Hattingh are both ranked No. 99 and 114 in singles play, respectively.
"We've had some good doubles teams in my time here, but I've never had one that's been No. 1," McInerney said. "That's exciting for the girls and I give a lot of credit to them and Matt Langley who's been on their court all season."
ASU and the Ducks will spar at the Whiteman Tennis Center this Sunday morning at 11 a.m. Live stats and a live stream link will be available on thesundevils.com, and live updates will be available on @SunDevilWTennis during the match.
Dynamic Duos: Rankings Update
The Sun Devil All-American duo of John-Baptiste/Hattingh has reached new heights, earning a spot as the No. 1 doubles tandem in the nation in this week's Oracle/ITA doubles rankings.
It is the first time in school history that a Sun Devil tandem topped the poll, but the two All-Americans were not alone in the ranking.
Samantha Alicea and Sammi Hampton combine to make the No. 54 doubles tandem in the NCAA and have recently moved up to court two.
John-Baptiste/Hattingh improved two places to No. 1 this week after a perfect outing against Denver.
The duo has been vital in helping the Devils grab the doubles point in five of their first eight Pac-12 matches this year. During their conference-opening weekend, the second-ranked squad handled No. 20 Valdes/Kulikov then downed No. 22 Bolton/Hart of UCLA.
In singles play, John-Baptiste leads the way with a No. 99 rank, and Ilze Hattingh jumped into the top-125 at 114.
Last Time Out
Arizona State picked up a thrilling 4-3 victory over the No. 42 Denver Pioneers Sunday when No. 99 Lauryn John-Baptiste laced a backhand past her Pioneer opponent on court two to complete a spectacular comeback and clinch the match win.
ASU started out with the early lead behind doubles wins from new No. 1 John-Baptiste/Hattingh on court one and No. 54 Alicea/Hampton on court two for the first time this season.
While the Pioneers got back into the match with a quick win, the Devils kept inching toward the match win as Samantha Alicea wrapped up her W on court six, and Tereza Kolarova grabbed a victory on court three.
It came down to court two where John-Baptiste found herself down early after dropping the first set 6-1. She had her back against the wall in the second set as well but managed to fight back to force a tiebreak that she would go on to win.
In the third, neither player would budge and a winner-take-all tiebreak would be needed to determine the victor.
John-Baptiste fell behind but eventually worked her way into the lead and would go on to win the tiebreak set 8-6 to take the match and clinch the win for the Sun Devils, pushing them to 10-9 with two regular season matches to go.
The Opposition: Oregon
A tournament team a season ago, the Ducks are in a bit of a transition period under first year head coach Courtney Nagle, formerly an assistant at one of the nation's premier programs North Carolina.
Nagle, a Duck alumna, took over in July of 2018, and though the Ducks sit at 6-13 and winless in the Pac-12 season heading into the weekend series against the Arizona programs, the groundwork is being laid Eugene.
Oregon has one doubles tandem ranked in the top-90 with Allison Mulville and Rifanty Kahfiani checking in at No. 87.
Should the Duck duo play on court one against No. 1 Hattingh/John-Baptiste, it would give ASU's top doubles tandem its 12th ranked match in 2019.
A young team, UO has only one senior on its roster in Daniela Nasser.
The 2018 Pac-12 honorable mention player has five singles wins this season, playing on courts one and two.