TEMPE, Ariz. – For the seventh time in eight tries this season, the No. 17 Sun Devils were victorious at home, this time pounding conference rival Washington State, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon at the Whiteman Tennis Center.
The Sun Devils' five-match homestand saw them rack up four wins – two against a pair of top-32 opponents – en route to earning their highest team ranking this spring via the ITA's most recent polls.
The Sun Devils (8-3) made it nine straight wins over the Cougars after Domenika Turkovic clinched the match on Court 2. After a first-set win, Turkovic rallied down a pair of games in the second set to stun WSU's Savanna Ly-Nguyen, 7-6, delivering the first win in conference play this spring.
They took a bit of an unconventional approach to a routing of the Cougars that took just over two hours. Staring down an early 1-0 deficit after dropping the doubles point for only the third time this spring, the Sun Devils wasted little time in singles play.
Five of the six matches were decided in straight sets. Sedona Gallagher handily took care of WSU's Maxine Murphy, dropping just one game in a contest where she hardly broke a sweat.
The Sun Devils would begin to stack singles wins, as victories by Cali Jankowski and Patricija Spaka soon followed. The two have formed a terrific presence out of the back end of the lineup, combining for an 18-1 record this spring.
Turkovic then pulled through on Court 2 to dust the Cougars for good.
SINGLES
1. Morlet,Giulia (ASU) vs. Michaela Bayerlova (WSU) 6-1, 3-6, unfinished
2. Turkovic,Domenika (ASU) def. Savanna Ly-Nguyen (WSU) 6-2, 7-6
3. Sedona Gallagher (ASU) def. Maxine Murphy (WSU) 6-0, 6-1
4. Jankowski,Cali (ASU) def. Elyse Tse (WSU) 6-2, 6-2
5. Patricija Spaka (ASU) def. Hania Abouelsaad (WSU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Yang Lee (WSU) def. Hill,Natasha (ASU) 6-0, 6-2
DOUBLES
1. Michaela Bayerlova/Maxine Murphy (WSU) def. Patricija Spaka/Turkovic,Domenika (ASU) 6-4
2. Morlet,Giulia/Sedona Gallagher (ASU) def. Yang Lee/Fifa Kumhom (WSU) 6-1
3. Elyse Tse/Savanna Ly-Nguyen (WSU) def. Jankowski,Cali/Hill,Natasha (ASU) 6-3
UP NEXT
The Sun Devils are off to the Golden State to see a pair of Pac-12 foes for their first matches away from Whiteman since February 12. They'll see No. 21 USC on Friday, March 11 (2:30 p.m. MST) and No. 16 UCLA on Saturday, March 12 (1:00 p.m. MST).
To stay up to date with the Sun Devils' California road trip, follow the team's Twitter account, @ sundevilwtennis.