TEMPE— After a season that saw the program go undefeated at home for the first time in program history and a 35th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, No. 25 Sun Devil Women's Tennis is ready to embark on the 2024 season.
Head coach Sheila McInerney will begin her 40th season in Tempe when the Sun Devils host UC Davis (10 a.m.) and UC San Diego (3 p.m.) on Saturday, January 13 at the Whiteman Tennis Center for the season opener.
It will mark the first two of 13 home matches for Arizona State this spring and the lone doubleheader for the team.
Six Sun Devils from last season have returned this spring and the team is ranked No. 25 in the nation in the ITA preseason national team rankings.
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
The Sun Devils will play a trio of matches from January 13-20, and all will take place right here at home. After Saturday's doubleheader, the Sun Devils will welcome Fresno State (11 a.m.) on Saturday, January 20.
They'll hit the road the following weekend, closing out January at the annual ITA Kickoff Weekend, where they're currently slated to meet Kansas (January 26 at 1 p.m.) and either Notre Dame or Ohio State the day after (January 27 at 4 p.m.) with both matches in Columbus, Ohio.
After the weekend in Columbus, the Sun Devils will be on the road again to face San Diego (February 4 at 2 p.m.).
The Sun Devils will host a five match homestand from February 10-25 beginning with a match against Arkansas (February 10 at 12 p.m.) followed by a weekend of matches with Oklahoma State (February 17 at 12 p.m.) and Cal Poly (February 18 at 12 p.m.). The homestand will come to an end with a matchup with Ohio State (February 25 at 11 a.m.) to cap off February.
March is looking to be another busy stretch, as the Sun Devils will play in four different locations. They'll first travel to Waco, Texas to take on Baylor (March 5 at 12 p.m.) before returning home to conference matches with Stanford (March 8 at 1:30 p.m.) and California (March 9 at 12 p.m.) along with a weekday home matinee with NAU (March 13 at 1:30 p.m.). ASU will remain on the road for the rest of March as they'll travel to UCLA (March 15 at 1:30 p.m.), USC (March 16 at 12 p.m.) and Oregon (March 22 at 12 p.m.) for more conference matches.
April will begin with two home conference matches against the Washington schools as the Sun Devils will face Washington State on April 5 at 1:30 p.m. and Washington on April 6 at 12 p.m. The following weekend, ASU will be on the road for the final time in the regular season to take on conference foes Utah (April 12 at 1:30pm) and Colorado (April 14 at 11 a.m.).
The Sun Devils will complete the 2024 regular season as they'll host in-state rival Arizona (April 20 at 12 p.m.) at the Whiteman Tennis Center.
Based on the ITA Preseason team rankings, seven of the opponents ASU will face in the regular season are ranked in the top-25 (Ohio State, Stanford, Oklahoma State, UCLA, California, Washington and USC) with two of their opponents (Baylor and San Diego) receiving votes.
Attention will then shift to the postseason, where the Sun Devils will head to Ojai, California, for the annual Pac-12 Championships (April 24-28).
NCAA Regional Championships are currently slated for May 3-5 and individual NCAA Championships will commence May 20. Alum Domenika Turkovic and junior Patricija Spaka were one of 32 doubles teams selected to compete in last year's NCAA Doubles Championships as they advanced to the Sweet 16.
Full schedule here
2024 ROSTER
The Sun Devils return six of the eight from last year's roster. Giulia Morlet, who had a career-best listing at No. 54 in singles, returns for the Sun Devils along with Marianna Argyrokastriti and Chelsea Fontenel who were each ranked in the top 100 in ITA's singles polls. Also returning for the Sun Devils are Rachel Hanford, Natasha Hill and Patricija Spaka.
They received a big boost from the three freshmen in Sara Svetac, Ada Pietrzynska and Emilija Tverijonaite.
Svetac comes to Tempe from Split, Croatia where she was ranked as high as No. 135 in the ITF Junior World Rankings and represented Croatia at the European Championships and was a member of the national team.
Pietrzynska, a Warsaw, Poland native, joined the team this semester and was ranked as high as No. 77 in the ITF Junior World Rankings.
Tverijonaite, from Šiauliai, Lithuania, is a Lithuanian Junior National Champion and ranked as high as No. 144 in the ITF Junior World Rankings. In the latest ITA individual rankings, Tverijonaite is No. 68 in singles.
LOOKING BACK
Last season, Arizona State appeared in their 35th consecutive NCAA tournament and had an impressive 17 win season.
After their 4-0 sweep of No. 48 Arizona in the regular season finale, the Sun Devils moved to 17-5, marking their second straight 17-win campaign, and an 8-3 record in conference play, their best season against conference foes since 2018 (7-3).
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 in 2023.
To end the regular season, the Sun Devils closed out the regular season on a five-match win streak (No. 29 USC, No. 26 UCLA, No. 54 Colorado, No. 48 Utah and No. 48 Arizona).
The Sun Devils put together a convincing case all spring to make another NCAA Tournament, from a trio of top-30 wins (No. 17 San Diego, No. 29 USC, No. 26 UCLA) and dominant conference play. It wasn't the kind of run they anticipated, as they were bounced in both the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament to USC (4-1) and the NCAA Tournament against Wake Forest (4-3).
Though that concluded the team portion of the spring schedule, Turkovic/Spaka were one of 32 doubles selections to compete in the NCAA Doubles Championships for the second consecutive spring. Turkovic/Spaka had a Round of 32 win over Princeton's Daria Frayman/Grace Joyce (6-0, 7-6), but were bested by North Carolina's Reese Brantmeier/Elizabeth Scotty (6-0, 7-5) in the Round of 16. Turkovic/Spaka were the first duo to advance out of the first round since 2018.
Recapping the entire 2023 season
FOLLOW ALONG
Keep up with the Sun Devils all spring via the team's Twitter and Instagram accounts, @sundevilwtennis.
Head coach Sheila McInerney will begin her 40th season in Tempe when the Sun Devils host UC Davis (10 a.m.) and UC San Diego (3 p.m.) on Saturday, January 13 at the Whiteman Tennis Center for the season opener.
It will mark the first two of 13 home matches for Arizona State this spring and the lone doubleheader for the team.
Six Sun Devils from last season have returned this spring and the team is ranked No. 25 in the nation in the ITA preseason national team rankings.
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
The Sun Devils will play a trio of matches from January 13-20, and all will take place right here at home. After Saturday's doubleheader, the Sun Devils will welcome Fresno State (11 a.m.) on Saturday, January 20.
They'll hit the road the following weekend, closing out January at the annual ITA Kickoff Weekend, where they're currently slated to meet Kansas (January 26 at 1 p.m.) and either Notre Dame or Ohio State the day after (January 27 at 4 p.m.) with both matches in Columbus, Ohio.
After the weekend in Columbus, the Sun Devils will be on the road again to face San Diego (February 4 at 2 p.m.).
The Sun Devils will host a five match homestand from February 10-25 beginning with a match against Arkansas (February 10 at 12 p.m.) followed by a weekend of matches with Oklahoma State (February 17 at 12 p.m.) and Cal Poly (February 18 at 12 p.m.). The homestand will come to an end with a matchup with Ohio State (February 25 at 11 a.m.) to cap off February.
March is looking to be another busy stretch, as the Sun Devils will play in four different locations. They'll first travel to Waco, Texas to take on Baylor (March 5 at 12 p.m.) before returning home to conference matches with Stanford (March 8 at 1:30 p.m.) and California (March 9 at 12 p.m.) along with a weekday home matinee with NAU (March 13 at 1:30 p.m.). ASU will remain on the road for the rest of March as they'll travel to UCLA (March 15 at 1:30 p.m.), USC (March 16 at 12 p.m.) and Oregon (March 22 at 12 p.m.) for more conference matches.
April will begin with two home conference matches against the Washington schools as the Sun Devils will face Washington State on April 5 at 1:30 p.m. and Washington on April 6 at 12 p.m. The following weekend, ASU will be on the road for the final time in the regular season to take on conference foes Utah (April 12 at 1:30pm) and Colorado (April 14 at 11 a.m.).
The Sun Devils will complete the 2024 regular season as they'll host in-state rival Arizona (April 20 at 12 p.m.) at the Whiteman Tennis Center.
Based on the ITA Preseason team rankings, seven of the opponents ASU will face in the regular season are ranked in the top-25 (Ohio State, Stanford, Oklahoma State, UCLA, California, Washington and USC) with two of their opponents (Baylor and San Diego) receiving votes.
Attention will then shift to the postseason, where the Sun Devils will head to Ojai, California, for the annual Pac-12 Championships (April 24-28).
NCAA Regional Championships are currently slated for May 3-5 and individual NCAA Championships will commence May 20. Alum Domenika Turkovic and junior Patricija Spaka were one of 32 doubles teams selected to compete in last year's NCAA Doubles Championships as they advanced to the Sweet 16.
Full schedule here
2024 ROSTER
The Sun Devils return six of the eight from last year's roster. Giulia Morlet, who had a career-best listing at No. 54 in singles, returns for the Sun Devils along with Marianna Argyrokastriti and Chelsea Fontenel who were each ranked in the top 100 in ITA's singles polls. Also returning for the Sun Devils are Rachel Hanford, Natasha Hill and Patricija Spaka.
They received a big boost from the three freshmen in Sara Svetac, Ada Pietrzynska and Emilija Tverijonaite.
Svetac comes to Tempe from Split, Croatia where she was ranked as high as No. 135 in the ITF Junior World Rankings and represented Croatia at the European Championships and was a member of the national team.
Pietrzynska, a Warsaw, Poland native, joined the team this semester and was ranked as high as No. 77 in the ITF Junior World Rankings.
Tverijonaite, from Šiauliai, Lithuania, is a Lithuanian Junior National Champion and ranked as high as No. 144 in the ITF Junior World Rankings. In the latest ITA individual rankings, Tverijonaite is No. 68 in singles.
LOOKING BACK
Last season, Arizona State appeared in their 35th consecutive NCAA tournament and had an impressive 17 win season.
After their 4-0 sweep of No. 48 Arizona in the regular season finale, the Sun Devils moved to 17-5, marking their second straight 17-win campaign, and an 8-3 record in conference play, their best season against conference foes since 2018 (7-3).
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 in 2023.
To end the regular season, the Sun Devils closed out the regular season on a five-match win streak (No. 29 USC, No. 26 UCLA, No. 54 Colorado, No. 48 Utah and No. 48 Arizona).
The Sun Devils put together a convincing case all spring to make another NCAA Tournament, from a trio of top-30 wins (No. 17 San Diego, No. 29 USC, No. 26 UCLA) and dominant conference play. It wasn't the kind of run they anticipated, as they were bounced in both the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament to USC (4-1) and the NCAA Tournament against Wake Forest (4-3).
Though that concluded the team portion of the spring schedule, Turkovic/Spaka were one of 32 doubles selections to compete in the NCAA Doubles Championships for the second consecutive spring. Turkovic/Spaka had a Round of 32 win over Princeton's Daria Frayman/Grace Joyce (6-0, 7-6), but were bested by North Carolina's Reese Brantmeier/Elizabeth Scotty (6-0, 7-5) in the Round of 16. Turkovic/Spaka were the first duo to advance out of the first round since 2018.
Recapping the entire 2023 season
FOLLOW ALONG
Keep up with the Sun Devils all spring via the team's Twitter and Instagram accounts, @sundevilwtennis.