No. 17 Sun Devils Host Inter-State Rival No. 25 Wildcats

The Match-Up

The No. 25 Arizona Wildcats enter the match with a 10-5 record (1-4 Pac-10) after having been idle last week. The previous week, the Wildcats earned a 4-3 victory at Oregon to capture their first conference win and snap a five-match losing streak. In the all-time series, ASU currently holds a 33-14 edge after sweeping last year's series, 2-0. The Sun Devils defeated the Wildcats in Tucson on March 9, 2005, 4-3, and again in Tempe on April 16, 5-2.

Last Time Out

The Sun Devils earned their third straight victory and their fifth sweep of the season, as they downed the No. 67 Houston Cougars, 7-0. After winning all three doubles matches, the Sun Devils won five of six singles matches in straight sets en route to victory.

Up Next

The Sun Devils will travel to southern California for a rematch with the Los Angeles schools, UCLA and USC, on March 31 and April 1, respectively. Currently ranked No. 17, UCLA defeated ASU, 7-0, in Tempe last month and the Trojans, currently ranked No. 4, also won, 5-2, in
Tempe.

It Takes Two

The Sun Devils' No. 1 doubles team of Kady Pooler and Roxanne Clarke are having a season for the record books so far. Through 13 matches, they have posted a 20-4 record and became just the fourth doubles team in school history to reach the 20-win plateau, putting them in some very elite company. They currently rank number one all-time for single-season winning percentage with a .833 mark. Here's a look at the top 10 doubles teams in school history:

The Sun Devils are without a doubt playing one of the toughest, if not the toughest, schedule in the country this year, combining a difficult non-conference slate with the powerhouses that form their schedule in the Pac-10 South. The Sun Devils have only one match left against teams not ranked in the ITA top 75 and have six remaining against top 25 teams, including numbers 1, 3, and 9. The Sun Devils have played four matches against top 10 teams (1-3) and will play three more against teams currently ranked up there. Against top 25 teams this season, the Devils are owners of a 3-4 record.

Where they Stack up

In this week's Fila ITA poll, the Sun Devils moved down five spots to No. 17 after reaching No. 12 last week, their highest ranking of the season and the highest they have been since reaching that spot on March 31, 2003. It marks the 13th straight poll in which the Sun Devils have been in the top 30 and their 10th straight in the top 25.

The Sun Devils have two ranked singles players currently and one ranked doubles team. No. 98 Roxanne Clarke stayed at the same position since the March 7 poll and No. 116 Sabrina Capannolo dropped 46 spots after breaking her slide last weekend.

Pooler-Clarke Win POW Honors

Sun Devil juniors Kady Pooler and Roxanne Clarke were named the Pac-10 Women's Tennis Players of the Week for Feb. 21 - 26 after posting a 2-0 record against the southern California schools.Pooler and Clarke became the first athletes in school history to earn the Conference award for Arizona State University and are the first doubles team in the conference to earn the award. Junior Sabrina Capannolo also received a nomination for the award for Feb. 5-12. Clarke also received a singles nomination for the week of March 12-19.

Clean Sweep

The Sun Devils recorded their fourth consecutive sweep of the season against Cal Poly on Feb. 12. It marked just the third time that the Sun Devils have strung together four sweeps. They last did it in 2001 and their longest streak was in Coach McInerney's first year, 1985, when they recorded five straight 9-0 sweeps.

Honors for Coach Mac

Sheila McInerney was named the Phoenix Womens Sports Association's 2005 Female Coach of the Year at the university level. She will be honored on Feb. 11 at the PWSA's annual banquet which corresponds with the end of ASU's Women and Girls in Sports Week. McInerney was honored not only for her accomplishments during her 22 seasons at ASU, but also for her contribution to "helping girls and women find their power through sports."

At The Helm

Coach Sheila McInerney enters her 22nd season at the helm of the Sun Devil program, the seventh longest tenure of any head coach at ASU, after leading last year's team to its 18th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament. In her 21 seasons, McInerney has led her team to 20 berths in the tournament. Prior to last year's exit in the second round, McInerney had led eight straight teams to the Sweet 16. She holds a career record of 329-206 and has posted three 20-win seasons in her career. ASU has finished in the top-10 of the nation an astounding 13 times under McInerney's tutelage.

25 Years of Women's Championships