TEMPE, Ariz. – In their Pac-12 opener, the first of a five-match stretch against conference opponents, the No. 17 Sun Devils suffered a 4-3 setback against Washington on Friday afternoon at the Whiteman Tennis Center.
It ended the Sun Devils' undefeated streak at home to begin the spring, a span of six matches that included a pair of wins against top-32 squads.
The Sun Devils had carved out a path to victory after they handily won the lone doubles point, courtesy of wins on Courts 1 (Domenika Turkovic & Patricija Spaka) and 2 (Giulia Morlet & Sedona Gallagher). But it wasn't before they were disrupted by – of all things in Tempe – a rain delay, forcing play to stop for nearly an hour.
Then, after play resumed, roughly 30 minutes later it was halted again due to lightning detected in the area.
Fans lingered and players ducked inside locker rooms before returning to finish doubles play.
The Sun Devils, up 1-0, stumbled in singles, dropping four of six matches which sealed their fate.
Patricija Spaka cruised to earn a team-best ninth win in singles this spring, defeating Kelly Leung in straight sets. Spaka is perfect in her last four matches on Court 4, as the Sun Devils have had to shuffle their lineup a bit in the absence of the injured Marianna Argyrokastriti.
Cali Jankowski was triumphant in a third-set thriller on Court 4, gliding past Hikaru Sato. With two straight wins, the senior is 7-1 combined between Courts 4 & 5 so far this spring.
It's a quick turnaround for the Sun Devils, who will welcome Washington State (4-6) to Whiteman on Saturday, March 5, at 12 p.m. MST. Fans can tune in via the ASU Live Stream or through live stats.
SINGLES
1. Vanessa Wong (WASH) def. Morlet,Giulia (ASU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Sarah-Maude Fortin (WASH) def. Turkovic,Domenika (ASU) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 3. Nika Zupancic (WASH) def. Sedona Gallagher (ASU) 7-5, 1-6, 6-2
4. Jankowski,Cali (ASU) def. Hikaru Sato (WASH) 6-2, 1-6, 7-5
5. Patricija Spaka (ASU) def. Kelly Leung (WASH) 6-0, 6-3
6. Yolanda Lin (WASH) def. Hill,Natasha (ASU) 6-3, 6-0
DOUBLES
1. Patricija Spaka/Turkovic,Domenika (ASU) def. Vanessa Wong/Hikaru Sato (WASH) 6-3
2. Morlet,Giulia/Sedona Gallagher (ASU) def. Nika Zupancic/Kelly Leung (WASH) 6-0
3. Jankowski,Cali/Hill,Natasha (ASU) def. Sarah-Maude Fortin/Yolanda Lin (WASH) 5-2