TEMPE, Ariz. – After acing their recent three-match homestand, the Sun Devils will be tested this weekend against a pair of conference opponents when they visit No. 21 Washington (Friday, March 17, 1:30 p.m. MST) and Washington State (Sunday, March 19, 11 a.m. MST).
FRIDAY AT WASHINGTON
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SUNDAY AT WASHINGTON STATE
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The Sun Devils have had great success in recent years when making the trip up the West Coast to visit both the Huskies and Cougars. In their last five road trips to Washington and Washington State, they've swept both schools in the same season four times (2021, 2017, 2015, 2013).
SUN DEVIL NOTABLES (11-2, 1-0)
- The Sun Devils were ranked No. 29 in the nation by the ITA in the latest national team polls. Giulia Morlet (No. 79) and Chelsea Fontenel (t-No. 113) are ranked nationally in singles, while Domenika Turkovic/Patricija Spaka are No. 11 in the country in doubles.
- The Sun Devils breezed through each of their three matches in the team's latest homestand, gliding past No. 46 Baylor (4-0), No. 53 Oregon (4-0) and Penn (6-1) to improve to 11-2 this spring.
- Playing lights-out at home is something fans have been accustomed to seeing over the years from Sheila McInerney's Sun Devils. Already 10-0 at the Whiteman Tennis Center this spring, the Sun Devils have now won 58 of their past 66 home matches dating back to 2018. Over the last two seasons alone, they're a combined 21-1.
- With Giulia Morlet nursing an ankle injury, the Sun Devils have had to shake up their starting lineup and has subsequently received terrific performances from Rachel Hanford. Hanford added a singles wins in singles against Baylor and Penn, plus is 2-0 in doubles alongside Sedona Gallagher.
- Chelsea Fontenel and Marianna Argyrokastriti have provided quite the punch for the Sun Devils in the middle of the lineup. They're a combined 23-2 in singles, typically playing on Courts 3 and 4, respectively. In the last three matches, the freshman Fontenel has slid to Court 1 in place of Morlet.
PREVIEWING THE No. 21 HUSKIES (10-3, 2-0)
- The Huskies check in to the latest ITA team rankings at No. 21 overall, up four spots from a week ago.
- Washington has four singles players ranked within the top-120 of the ITA individual rankings – Astrid Olsen (No. 77), Sarah Maude-Fortin (No. 105), Hikaru Sato (No. 110), Jennifer Kerr (No. 120). Additionally, Hikaru Sato/Zehra Suko are listed as the No. 65 doubles team in the nation.
- At 10-3 this season, the Huskies are winners of four straight, including two against conference foes USC and UCLA.
- The Huskies qualified for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, going 1-2 with a win against Vanderbilt on February 11 (4-3).
- Washington is led by head coach Robin Stephenson, who has been at the helm of the Husky program since 2014. Named the 2019 Pac-12 Coach of the Year, Stephenson has led UW to the highest final ITA ranking (No. 10 in 2019) since 2004 and has steered the Huskies to three NCAA Tournament appearances.
- The Sun Devils and Huskies have traded blows in each of their previous three meetings, splitting their past two meetings.
PREVIEWING THE COUGARS (7-6, 0-2)
- At 7-6 this spring, the Cougars have dropped their two most recent matches against USC (6-1) and UCLA (5-2).
- Prior to their two losses against conference opponents, the Cougars were a perfect 4-0 at home to open the spring.
- The Cougars are led by second-year head coach Raquel Atawo. Atawo spent three seasons on the Auburn staff, where she was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southern Region Assistant Coach of the Year in 2017.
- On a roster of nine, the Cougars have seven underclassmen, led by sophomore Maxine Murphy as the team's top singles players. Junior Fifa Kumhom and fifth-year Yang Lee are the program's only veterans.
- The Sun Devils have won 21 of their past 22 meetings with the Cougars dating back to 2000, including nine straight.
NEARLY FOUR DECADES OF COACH MAC
Sheila McInerney is in year 39 at Arizona State. Only two current Pac-12 coaches have been at their job longer and fourth on the list is Hall of Famer Tara VanDerveer.
McInerney recently coached in her 900th career game as the Sun Devils' head coach against the No. 6 Buckeyes on February 19.
In April 2022, McInerney guided the Sun Devils to a 4-3 win over No. 12 Cal, securing the 550th win of her career. She currently owns a career record of 568-335.
CURRENT PAC-12 COACHES 37+ YEARS
Jack Clark, Cal Rugby (40th season in 2022-23)
Mary Lou Mulflur, Washington Women's Golf (40th season in 2022-23)
Sheila McInerney, Arizona State Women's Tennis (39th season in 2022-23)
Tara VanDerveer, Stanford Women's Basketball (37th season in 2022-23)
FUTURE DEVILS
The Sun Devils announced the signing of top Croatian junior Sara Svetac in early March, marking the second signee in the incoming freshmen class.
Svetac, who was ranked as high as No. 135 in the ITF Junior World rankings, has captured five ITF junior single titles and a trio of junior doubles titles.
She will arrive in Tempe this fall, joined alongside top Lithuanian junior Emilija Tverijonaite, who signed with the team in November 2022.
MATCHES VS. PAC-12 OPPONENTS THIS SEASON
Sunday, March 5 vs. Oregon (W, 4-0)
Friday, March 17 at Washington
Sunday, March 19 at Washington State
Friday, March 31 at Cal
Saturday, April 1 at Stanford
Friday, April 7 vs. USC
Saturday, April 8 vs. UCLA
Friday, April 14 vs. Colorado
Saturday, April 15 vs. Utah
Saturday, April 22 at Arizona
REMAINING HOME MATCHES THIS SEASON
Friday, April 7 vs. USC (1:30 p.m. MST)
Saturday, April 8 vs. UCLA (12 p.m. MST)
Friday, April 14 vs. Colorado (1:30 p.m. MST)
Saturday, April 15 vs. Utah (12 p.m. MST)
FOLLOW ALONG
Keep up with the Sun Devils all weekend long in their trek to the Pacific Northwest via the team's Twitter account, @sundevilwtennis, which will be updated with results, news recaps and more.