TEMPE – No. 18 Arizona State got back into the win column Friday when the Sun Devils defeated Wichita State 5-2 to open the weekend homestand at the Whiteman Tennis Center.
"I'm proud of our kids," coach Sheila McInerney said. "They had to withstand a good team that was really going after it. No win is an easy win, but we handled our business pretty well and played well after a really long weekend with three tough matches at ITA Indoors."
Slaysman/Jankowski put the Devils in the driver's seat for the doubles point when they won 6-1 over their Shocker opponents. Courts one and three also got off to hot starts, but the Shockers refused to go away and fought back from 5-1 and 5-2 down to make it interesting on both courts.
On the verge of losing three-straight games, John-Baptiste/Hampton locked in and managed to knock off their opponents on court three to clinch the point and send the Devils into singles play up 1-0.
"We came out and won the doubles point fairly routinely, but Wichita State made it a battle all the way through," McInerney said. "They really didn't back down in singles and made it tough for us today."
The Shockers came out firing in singles play and split first-sets with the Sun Devils, taking the early leads on courts three, four and five.
Savannah Slaysman was the first one off the court again. She dropped only two games en route to her sweep on court six. Slaysman grabbed a quick first-set win 6-2 before settling and cruising to a 6-0 second-set to put ASU up 2-0.
It was Slaysman's team-leading eighth singles win in 10 outings and the victory pushed her home unbeaten-streak to six matches, dating back to last season.
"She's playing really well right now," McInerney said. "She started out well, but I think those big wins during the kickoff weekend and her win at indoors has really boosted her confidence. She's really been a rock out there for us."
Wichita State got one back shortly after when the Shockers grabbed a win on court four, then knotted things up at two apiece with a win on court three.
Sammi Hampton and Ilze Hattingh would seal the win for the Sun Devils, with back-to-back wins at the top two courts, but the match would be played out as Cali Jankowski worked into a third set on court five.
Jankowski dropped the first set 5-7, and came back to tie the second set at 6 all, looking to stay alive in the match. She'd go on to win 7-6 and force a third-set tiebreaker that closely resembled the match as a whole. Jankowski found herself down 6-1 early, but stormed back to win the set and the match 12-10.
The 5-2 win lifted the Devils out of a three-match slump and sends them into Sunday's match on track for a third weekend sweep at home.
ASU is off Saturday, but the Whiteman Tennis Center will be in use as Wichita State takes on Rice. The Devils return to the courts Sunday at noon to take on the Rice Owls.
"I'm proud of our kids," coach Sheila McInerney said. "They had to withstand a good team that was really going after it. No win is an easy win, but we handled our business pretty well and played well after a really long weekend with three tough matches at ITA Indoors."
Slaysman/Jankowski put the Devils in the driver's seat for the doubles point when they won 6-1 over their Shocker opponents. Courts one and three also got off to hot starts, but the Shockers refused to go away and fought back from 5-1 and 5-2 down to make it interesting on both courts.
On the verge of losing three-straight games, John-Baptiste/Hampton locked in and managed to knock off their opponents on court three to clinch the point and send the Devils into singles play up 1-0.
"We came out and won the doubles point fairly routinely, but Wichita State made it a battle all the way through," McInerney said. "They really didn't back down in singles and made it tough for us today."
The Shockers came out firing in singles play and split first-sets with the Sun Devils, taking the early leads on courts three, four and five.
Savannah Slaysman was the first one off the court again. She dropped only two games en route to her sweep on court six. Slaysman grabbed a quick first-set win 6-2 before settling and cruising to a 6-0 second-set to put ASU up 2-0.
It was Slaysman's team-leading eighth singles win in 10 outings and the victory pushed her home unbeaten-streak to six matches, dating back to last season.
"She's playing really well right now," McInerney said. "She started out well, but I think those big wins during the kickoff weekend and her win at indoors has really boosted her confidence. She's really been a rock out there for us."
Wichita State got one back shortly after when the Shockers grabbed a win on court four, then knotted things up at two apiece with a win on court three.
Sammi Hampton and Ilze Hattingh would seal the win for the Sun Devils, with back-to-back wins at the top two courts, but the match would be played out as Cali Jankowski worked into a third set on court five.
Jankowski dropped the first set 5-7, and came back to tie the second set at 6 all, looking to stay alive in the match. She'd go on to win 7-6 and force a third-set tiebreaker that closely resembled the match as a whole. Jankowski found herself down 6-1 early, but stormed back to win the set and the match 12-10.
The 5-2 win lifted the Devils out of a three-match slump and sends them into Sunday's match on track for a third weekend sweep at home.
ASU is off Saturday, but the Whiteman Tennis Center will be in use as Wichita State takes on Rice. The Devils return to the courts Sunday at noon to take on the Rice Owls.