May 26, 2011
NCAA Singles Bracket
STANFORD, Calif.—In a day of split singles decisions, freshman All-American Jacqueline Cako advancing to the NCAA singles championship quarterfinals, while senior Kelcy McKenna dropped a hard fought contest in her last singles match for the Sun Devils.
Cako, ranked 12th in the nation by ITA, defeated No. 102 Tatsiana Kapshai of Sacramento State in a tough match-up not evidenced by the score, 6-2, 6-2.
“Jacqueline played very well and didn’t give away many free points, which always helps,” said head coach Sheila McInerney. “The score was not indicative of how competitive the match was. Jacqueline had to play well to come away with the win.”
Cako will face California’s Mari Andersson Friday in her round of 16 match-up.
With a tough draw of the bracket, McKenna dropped her second round match-up against third-ranked Hilary Barte of Stanford. Playing on her home court, Barte defeated McKenna, 6-1, 6-3.
“Hilary is certainly a tough one and I thought Kelcy played quite well in the second set,” said McInerney. “She just could get over the hump when she had a slight opening. You have to be almost perfect the way Hilary is playing right now.”
Despite dropping her singles match, McKenna rallied to play doubles with partner Micaela Hein in the first round of NCAA doubles competition. The Sun Devil duo defeated Alabama's Guarachi/McLane 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the NCAA doubles round of 16.
“Kelcy and Micaela got a little unlucky to lose the first set as they played well but Alabama seemed to win all the big points,” said McInerney. “The girls just stuck with it and were very aggressive in the second and third sets.”
The ASU doubles pair will face the fourth-seeded Stanford doubles team of Barte/Burdette at 6 p.m. tomorrow in the NCAA doubles round of 16.
“With them being seniors it was very deserving that they pulled it out. I’m very happy for them.”