TEMPE, Ariz. – The final homestand of the spring season will commence this weekend when the No. 30 Sun Devils host No. 29 USC (Friday, April 7, 1:30 p.m. MST) and No. 26 UCLA (Saturday, April 8, 12 p.m. MST), marking two of the last four matches to be played at the Whiteman Tennis Center this year.
Fans can follow along with the action via live stats, which will be made available for both matches.
Returning to Whiteman for the first time since mid-March, the Sun Devils were away on a four-match road trip between Washington and California over the past four weeks.
SUN DEVIL NOTABLES
- The Sun Devils continue to stack the latest team, singles and doubles polls. In the latest ITA rankings, the Sun Devils were listed at No. 30 in the nation, while Giulia Morlet is No. 118 in singles. Domenika Turkovic/Patricija were ranked as the No. 27 doubles team.
- Back at full strength once more, the Sun Devils are fully healthy for the first time since mid-February, as Giulia Morlet returned to action in Northern California last weekend. The junior from Paris, France, was sidelined for a foot injury for six weeks.
- Marianna Argyrokastriti has been the Sun Devils' most dependable player this spring, as she currently leads the team with 15 wins in singles play. The latest two came this weekend against Cal's Valentina Ivanov (6-2, 6-3) and Stanford's #84 Alexis Blokhins (2-6, 6-1, 6-3).
- Fans have just four chances remaining to catch seniors Domenika Turkovic and Sedona Gallagher at the Whiteman Tennis Center for the final time of their careers. They'll be recognized during a Senior Day celebration prior to the Utah match on Saturday, April 15 (12 p.m. MST).
- Chasing 600: Head coach Sheila McInerney is 31 wins away from 600 in her illustrious 39-year tenure. With just five matches remaining in the 2023 regular season, McInerney owns a career record of 569-338.
PREVIEWING NO. 29 USC (13-6, 4-2)
- The Trojans come to Tempe on a hot streak, having won four straight and six of their last seven.
- USC is led by sixth-year head coach Alison Swain, who guided the Trojans to a 71-47 overall record (.602) with a 24-18 record (.571) in Pac-12 matches in her first five seasons.
- USC has three ranked within the top-125 of the ITA singles rankings, led by Madison Sieg at No. 6 in the nation. Sieg is joined by Eryn Cayetano (No. 42) and Snow Han (No. 116). The Trojans have two doubles teams that are nationally ranked – Cayetano/Sieg (No. 21) and Snow Han/Naomi Cheong (No. 38).
- The Trojans made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last spring, courtesy of a 4-0 win over San Diego State in the opening round.
- Cayetano was terrific for the Trojans as a junior last spring, earning placement in the NCAA Singles Tournament, picking up All-American singles honors and being named a Honda Sport Award Finalist.
PREVIEWING NO. 26 UCLA (8-5, 3-3)
- The Bruins are winners of two straight, having swept both Colorado and Utah in their previous two matches.
- UCLA is led by 27th-year head coach Stella Sampras Webster, who entered the 2022-23 season owning an overall record of 488-178 (.733).
- UCLA has three within the top-125 of the ITA singles rankings in Fangran Tian (No. 17), Kimmi Hance (No. 108) and Ava Catanzarite (No. 122). The Elise Wagle/Kimmi Hance is the No. 12 duo in the nation.
- The Bruins made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last spring after defeating Arkansas, 4-1, in the opening round.
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
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)
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 all weekend long in their trek to the Golden State via the team's Twitter account, @sundevilwtennis, which will be updated with results, news recaps and more.