March 22, 2000
ON TAP: The second-ranked Arizona State women's tennis team (10-3, 2-1 Pac-10) will take a break from conference action and travel to Austin, Texas, to face No. 24 Texas on Sat., March 25. The dual match will be played at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center at noon. The Lady Devils have won eight of their last 10 matches, falling only to top-ranked Stanford and 12th-ranked USC.
IN THE RANKINGS: The latest rankings, issued by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on March 22, show that despite not playing during Spring Break, the Sun Devils moved up two spots and is now ranked second in the country. Last week, the team moved from No. 7 to No. 4 surpassing the program's previous highest ranking, a No. 6 mark achieved during the 1997 season. Individual rankings were published on March 15, placing injured sophomore Allison Bradshaw up three spots to 10th-best in the country. Junior Karin Palme slid from No. 52 to a tie for 70th despite defeating two ranked opponents. Freshman Megan Yeats remained at No. 81, the spot where she debuted during the last rankings. Freshman Mhairi Brown dropped seven spots to No. 99. In doubles, the tandem of Bradshaw and Celena McCoury jumped from No. 18 to No. 29, but have not played together since February.
THE OPPONENT: Texas is currently ranked 24th in the country with a 7-5 overall record, 6-0 in the Big 12. The Longhorns began the season with a 7-0 run, but are winless in March and will try to break its five-match losing streak vs. No. 19 Tennessee on March 23 before taking on the Sun Devils on the 25th. All five of Texas' losses have come to opponents ranked in the top 15. Like ASU, the Longhorns only have one senior on its roster and she is Michelle Faucher, ranked 14th in the country with an 18-6 mark. Also ranked is Janet Walker (No. 29), Vladka Uhlirova (No. 73) and Kaysie Smashey (No. 87). In doubles play, Walker and Smashey are ranked 18th while Uhlirova and Joanne Masongsong are 33rd.
HOME SWEET HOME: The Sun Devil tennis program began the season with the new Robson Player Facility. Located on the southwest corner of the existing Whiteman Tennis Center, the spacious facility features new player locker rooms, offices, a training room and a shaded viewing terrace for spectators. Arizona State has posted a 7-2 record this year, and over the past four seasons, is 45-15 (.750) when playing in Tempe. This season's losses came to sixth-ranked UCLA on Jan. 29 and top-ranked Stanford on March 3.
IN THE PAC: The Sun Devils are playing in the toughest conference in the country. All six of the southern Pac-10 schools are ranked in the top 16, fiveof which are in the top 10. Stanford and Arizona State are ranked first and second, respectively, while California is sixth and USC holds down seventh. UCLA is ninth, followed by Arizona in the 16th spot. The northern Pac-10 schools are not far behind. Washington is ranked 25th, Oregon is 42nd and Washington State is 62nd. Individually six of the top 10 players come from our conference and in the 100 athletes that are ranked, 20 hail from the southern Pac-10. That same ratio is found in the doubles rankings, where five leage tandems are in the top 10 and 10 are in the top 50.
LAST WEEK'S ACTION: The Sun Devils went 2-1 in matches last week. Up first was non-conference opponent William & Mary, whom ASU defeated 7-2. The game was decided after singles, as the Devils held a 5-1 lead, but doubles was played nevertheless. The Sun Devils then traveled to ninth-ranked UCLA in Los Angeles and took a 4-2 lead after singles and held on during doubles play for a 6-3 victory. The following day, the opposite occurred, as No. 12 USC had a 4-2 lead after singles and the Sun Devils were unable to record a necessary doubles sweep for the win, falling 6-3. The matches against the Bruins and the Women of Troy did not count toward ASU's Pac-10 record. In singles play, freshman Megan Yeats won all three of her contests to become the first member of 20-win club on this year's squad.
THE COACH CLAIMS 250TH WIN: Sheila McInerney, in her 16th season at the helm of the Sun Devil program, earned her 250th career win as ASU defeated Oregon on Feb. 19. McInerney, who is averaging 16 wins per season, has led her team the past two seasons to back-to-back NCAA Round of 16 finishes. ASU has made NCAA appearances in 14 of McInerney's 15 seasons, including six quarterfinal finishes. During her tenure at ASU, the 1997 ITA National Coach of the Year has posted a 254-149 record and has been a two-time ITA/West Region Coach of the Year honoree. Additionally, McInerney has tutored 18 Sun Devil All-Americans, 11 All-Pac-10 players and 22 conference All-Academic honorees.
ALLISON BRADSHAW: Although currently sidelined by a foot injury, Allison Bradshaw is the highest ranked player for the Sun Devils in the ITA standings, 10th-best in the country. She and teammate Celena McCoury are the only doubles tandem ranked on the squad and are currently 29th. Bradshaw has played the No. 1 spot for the Sun Devils all season and is 6-2 in dual matches and is 14-4 overall. The sophomore from San Diego, Calif., played in the ITA Summer Championships, making her way to the third round before retiring due to injury. As a freshman in 1998-99, Bradshaw earned All-America honors in singles and doubles, receiving a top-16 seed in the NCAA Championship singles tournament and a top-8 seed, with former teammate Katy Propstra, in the doubles competition. She currently carries 45-20 career record.
KARIN PALME: Junior Karin Palme, from Guadalajara, Mexico, brings international experience to the Sun Devil squad due to her appearances in the 1998 Fed Cup, 1998 Central American Games and 1995 Pan American Games representing Mexico. Ranked 70thby the ITA, she currently carries a 8-5 dual, 16-8 overall record, playing mostly in the No. 2 spot during singles competition. She is 2-3 vs. ranked teams at the No. 1 position, where she has been playing in place of the injured Bradshaw. Palme is 46-31 in her singles career. She and teammate Kerry Giardino are undefeated in doubles compeition this season, 8-0 in dual matches, 9-0 overall at the No. 3 spot.
FRESHMEN OF INFLUENCE: Freshmen Mhairi Brown and Megan Yeats have made significant contributions this season. Yeats currently posts a team-high 11-1 dual record while Brown is 10-2. Yeats is currently ranked 81st in the country and has an overall mark of 20-6, winning 15 of her last 16 matches -- inlcuding a current 10-match win streak -- en route to becoming the first team member to notch 20 wins on the season. She plays in the fifth and sixth spots in singles competition. Brown boasts a 18-6 overall mark, second on the team, and is ranked 99thby the ITA. Her racord is divided among the fourth through sixth spots. Her 10-match win streak was halted by Stanford's Gabriela Lastra on March 3. The pair also team up at the No. 2 doubles position where they have posted a 5-2 dual mark and are 13-5 overall.
Team
as of March 22, 2000
| Rk. | Team | Record |
| 1. | Stanford | 16-0 |
| 2. | ARIZONA STATE | 10-3 |
| 3. | Wake Forest | 10-1 |
| 4. | Pepperdine | 13-2 |
| 5. | Georgia | 11-1 |
| 6. | California | 11-3 |
| 7. | USC | 11-3 |
| 8. | Florida | 12-1 |
| 9. | UCLA | 10-5 |
| 10. | Vanderbilt | 15-1 |
| 11. | Duke | 9-4 |
| 12. | Notre Dame | 12-5 |
| 13. | William & Mary | 12-5 |
| t14. | Northwestern | 11-2 |
| t14. | South Alabama | 10-2 |
| 16. | Arizona | 7-7 |
| 17. | Mississippi | 10-5 |
| 18. | South Carolina | 11-5 |
| 19. | Tennessee | 11-5 |
| 20. | Florida State | 12-3 |
| 21. | Baylor | 13-1 |
| 22. | MIssissippi State | 8-3 |
| 23. | TCU | 12-3 |
| 24. | Texas | 7-5 |
| 25. | Washington | 7-5 |
Individual
as of March 15, 2000
Singles
| Rk. | Name | Team |
| 1. | Kristina Kraszewski | Washington |
| 2. | Zuzana Lesenarova | San Diego |
| 3. | Marissa Irvin | Stanford |
| 4. | Laura Granville | Stanford |
| 5. | Adria Engel | Wake Forest |
| 10. | Alison Bradshaw | Arizona State |
| t70. | Karin Palme | Arizona State |
| 81. | Megan Yeats | Arizona State |
| 99. | Mhairi Brown | Arizona State |
Doubles
| Rk. | Name | Team | |
| 1. | Lesenarova/Valykova | San Diego | |
| 2. | Ashley/Irvin | Stanford | |
| 3. | Blau/Gough | Arizona | |
| 4. | Ondjkova/Purierova | South Alabama | |
| 5. | Blumberg/Burson | Vanderbilt | |
| 29. | Bradshaw/McCoury | Arizona State |