March 24, 2003
Complete Women's Tennis Release in PDF Format
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ON TAP: The seventh-ranked Arizona State women's tennis team (7-3, 1-0 Pac-10) begin a busy week of travel as they first head south to Arizona (4-6, 0-1 Pac-10) on Wednesday, March 26 to resume the dual at 1:00 p.m. that was postponed back on Feb. 26 due to rain. The dual will begin again with no score. After the UA dual, the Devils will then travel to top-ranked USC (15-1, 2-0 Pac-10) on Friday, March 28 at 1:30 p.m. and ninth-ranked UCLA (10-5, 1-1 Pac-10) on Saturday, March 29 at 12:00 p.m. The USC and UCLA duals will count towards the Pac-10 standings.
LAST TIME OUT: The Devils ran away with a 5-2 win over 15th-ranked Notre Dame, while the dual against Florida International was cancelled due to rain. In doubles action, ASU was able to steal away the point with the No. 47 duo of Adria Engel and Lauren Colalillo defeating the 27th-ranked team of Katie Cunha and Kristina Stastny 8-5, and Megan Yeats and Joslynn Burkett following suit with an 8-4 victory. In singles play, the Sun Devils notched four of the six singles, including No. 16 Adria Engel win over No. 51 Caylan Leslie 6-4, 6-2, while No. 48 Dora Krstulovic simultaneously beat No. 65 Alicia Salas 6-0, 6-2.
HEAD COACH SHEILA McINERNEY: Enters her 19th season at the helm of the ASU program after leading her team to a NCAA Round of 16 appearance and a No. 9 national ranking in 2002. McInerney has also guided ASU to eight quarterfinal appearances in her tenure, and has made the NCAA tournament in 17 of her 18 seasons. McInerney was also selected as the head coach of the 2001-2002 USA Tennis Collegiate team. In 1997, McInerney was honored as the ITA National Coach of the Year after guiding the Sun Devils to a 15-7 record and a No. 7 national ranking. She also garnered 1997 Pacific-10 Conference Coach of the Year honors and is a three time (1988, '90, '01) West Region ITA Coach of the Year. McInerney, who owns a career record of 297-171 (.635), posted three 20-win seasons (1986, '90, '01) and has guided the Devils to 15 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. ASU has finished in the top-10 in five of the past six seasons and 13 times in her 18 seasons. McInerney has tutored 23 All-Americans and 13 different all-conference players.
BIG NUMBERS: Senior and three-time All-American Adria Engel will look to become Arizona State's second four-time All-American selection (Reka Cseresnyes 1995-98). After capturing ASU's first Pac-10 singles title (male/female) as a sophomore, Engel is also seeking to become the school's all-time leader in wins. She is currently 19-8 and holds a career record of 120-41 (.745).
DEVILS IN THE RANKINGS: As a team, Arizona State is No. 7 in the Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings, administered by the ITA. In singles, Adria Engel is No. 16 and Dora Krstulovic comes in at No. 48. In doubles, Engel and Colaillo are No. 47, while Engel and Krstulovic are at No. 52 and Brown and Cindy Sureephong check in at No. 53.
SCHEDULE STRENGTH: Once again the Devils will face a strong non-conference slate along with the always powerful Pac-10 Conference. Thirteen ASU opponents earned NCAA bids last year, while nine of ASU's opponents are ranked in the top-25. The Pac-10 comprises five of the nation's top-10 teams and seven of the nine Pac-10 teams are ranked in the top-25.