TEMPE, Ariz. – Winners of five straight to close out the regular season, the No. 22 Sun Devils (17-5, 7-3) will head to the Pac-12 Championships this week in Ojai, California (April 26-29) at Weil Tennis Academy, owning the No. 3 seed in the tournament.
The Sun Devils earned a first-round bye and will play the winner of No. 6 USC-No. 11 Washington State on Thursday, April 27, at 6 p.m. MST in the quarterfinals. A win on Thursday would give the Sun Devils their first 18-win campaign since 2016 (18-6). It would also be the 575th career win for head coach Sheila McInerney.
Pac-12 Tournament Central | Live scoring | Brackets
A year after making it to the final match in Ojai for the first time in program history, the Sun Devils' No. 3 seed is tied for their highest in program history (2017, 2018).
As the No. 5 seed last spring, the Sun Devils stormed to the tournament final after consecutive upsets of USC and top-seeded Cal.
2022 Pac-12 Tournament
Quarterfinal
[5] Arizona State 4, [4] USC 3
Semifinal
[5] Arizona State 4, [1] Cal 3
Final
[3] Stanford 4, [5] Arizona State 2
SUN DEVIL NOTABLES
- With a 4-0 sweep of No. 48 Arizona in the regular season finale, the Sun Devils moved to 17-5 this spring, marking their second straight 17-win campaign. It's just the 13th time under head coach Sheila McInerney they've won 17 matches or more in consecutive seasons and the first time since 2013-14.
- The Sun Devils went 7-3 in league play this spring, their best season against conference foes since 2018 (7-3). Two of those wins have come against both Washington State (March 17, 7-0) and USC (April 7, 4-1).
- Heading into the postseason, the Sun Devils are nationally ranked (No. 22) in the team polls, while having a top-25 doubles tandem (Domenika Turkovic/Patricija Spaka, No. 24) and two top-125 singles players (No. 104 Chelsea Fontenel, No. 122 Giulia Morlet).
- After sweeping No. 48 Utah on April 15, the Sun Devils completed an undefeated home slate for the first time in program history, as they won all 15 matches at the Whiteman Tennis Center this spring.
- Junior Marianna Argyrokastriti has been a terrific force for the Sun Devils this spring, as she leads the team with 18 wins in singles play. She's now 13-1 on Court 4 this season, but has excelled when bumped up in the lineup to Court 3 (5-1).
- In addition to the nationally ranked duo of Turkovic/Spaka, the Sun Devils have also received a massive boost from Giulia Morlet/Sedona Gallagher on Court 2, having posted a team-best record of 13-2.
17-PLUS WIN SEASONS UNDER COACH McINERNEY
2022 – 17-8
2016 – 18-6
2014 – 18-8
2013 – 17-6
2001 – 20-6
1992 – 18-8
1991 – 19-10
1990 – 20-10
1989 – 19-11
1988 – 17-11
1986 – 21-7
1985 – 17-14
MATCHES VS. PAC-12 OPPONENTS THIS SEASON
Sunday, March 5 vs. Oregon (W, 4-0)
Friday, March 17 at Washington (L, 1-4)
Sunday, March 19 at Washington State (W, 7-0)
Friday, March 31 at Cal (L, 6-1)
Saturday, April 1 at Stanford (L, 4-3)
Friday, April 7 vs. USC (W, 4-1)
Saturday, April 8 vs. UCLA (W, 4-2)
Friday, April 14 vs. Colorado (W, 4-0)
Saturday, April 15 vs. Utah (W, 4-0)
Saturday, April 22 at Arizona (W, 4-0)
OVERALL: 7-3
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.
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.
FOLLOW ALONG
Keep up with the Sun Devils in what is hopefully a lengthy stay in Ojai via the team's Twitter account, @sundevilwtennis, which will be updated with scores, results, recaps and more.