April 18, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The No. 25 Arizona State Sun Devils women's tennis team closes out its regular season schedule this weekend as they head south to Tucson to take on the Arizona Wildcats on the road. The Pac-10 match is the final match of the season before the Pac-10 Championships begin on April 27 in Ojai, Calif. The Sun Devils are currently owners of a 12-8 record (3-4 Pac-10) and sit in a tie with the Wildcats for fifth place in the Pac-10 standings.
The Match-Up
The Arizona Wildcats enter the match ranked No. 35 by the ITA with a 12-10 overall record and 3-4 conference record. They were also swept by Cal and Stanford at home last weekend, The Sun Devils won the first matchup of the season with the Wildcats within the friendly confines of the Whiteman Center, 5-2, on March 25. The Sun Devils lead the all-time series 34-14 and are looking to sweep the season series for the second straight year.
Last Time Out
The Sun Devils lost both matches last weekend, taking on California and Stanford. The Devils fell to the No. 11 Golden Bears 5-2 at home on Friday before the defending champs downed them 6-1 on Saturday. Kady Pooler earned a Pac-10 Player of the Week nomination for her singles win on Friday and her part in a huge upset doubles win on Saturday.
Up Next
The Sun Devils will travel to Ojai, California for the Pac-10 Championships on April 27-30.
It Takes Two To Beat Number One
The Sun Devils' No. 1 doubles team of Kady Pooler and Roxanne Clarke is having a season for the record books so far. Last Saturday, they took on the nation's No. 1 ranked doubles team of Anne Yelsey and Alice Barnes of Stanford, and came away with a 9-8 (5) win, helping them rise to a season-high of No. 19 in the ITA poll. The victory improved their record to 23-8 on the year. Earlier this season, they 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 three all-time for single-season winning percentage with a .743 mark. Here's a look at the top 10 doubles teams in school history:
TOP DOUBLES TEAMS IN ASU HISTORY
Season Natl Rank Ovr. Record Win Pct.1. Kori Davidson/Meredith Geiger 1994 #6 18-5 .783
2. Cindy Sureephong/Megan Yeats 2001 #35 22-7 .759
3. Kady Pooler/Roxanne Clarke 2006 #19 23-8 .743
4. Allison Bradshaw/Celena McCoury 2000 #14 17-5 .739
5. Katy Propstra/Stephanie Lansdorp* 1998 #10 22-8 .733
6. Carol Coparanis/Laura Glitz 1986 -- 19-7 .731
7. Kori Davidson/Kara Schertzer 1993 -- 18-7 .720
8. Katy Propstra/Stephanie Lansdorp 1997 #15 16-9 .640
9. Mhairi Brown/Celena McCoury 2001 #17 21-14 .600
10. Katy Propstra/Allison Bradshaw* 1999 #11 18-14 .563
* Earned All-American Honors in Doubles
Where they Stack up
In this week's Fila ITA poll, ASU fell to No. 25 after dropping two last weekend. It marks the 17th straight poll in which the Sun Devils have been in the top 30 and their 14th straight in the top 25.
20-20 Club
With her two singles wins and two doubles wins against the Washington schools, junior Rebecca Rankin won her 21st singles match and her 20th doubles match to become the second Sun Devil on this year's squad to record 20 victories in both categories, joining junior Roxanne Clarke.
To Be the Best...
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 played six matches against top 10 teams (1-5) and 10 matches against the top 25 (4-8). Against ranked opponents this year, the Devils are 7-8, having only played five unranked teams.
Clarke Honored By Pac-10 Again
Junior Roxanne Clarke was again honored by the Pac-10, this time for singles, as the Conference's Player of the Week for March 20 - 26. No. 98 Clarke defeated Arizona's No. 54 Danielle Steinberg, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5). This was Clarke's first Pac-10 Player of the Week honor on the singles court and second weekly honor all-time for Arizona State. Clarke and her doubles teammate, Kady Pooler, were named Conference Players of the Week as a doubles team on Feb. 27.
Individual Rankings
The Sun Devils have two ranked singles players currently and one ranked doubles team. Roxanne Clarke has been ranked No. 74 in the last poll (down from No. 59) and Sabrina Capannolo fell to No. 120 (from 116). Roxanne Clarke and Kady Pooler are currently ranked No. 19 in doubles, moving up 24 spots after knocking off No. 1 on Saturday.
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 332-210 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.