April 9, 1998
A Battle of the Best: The eighth-ranked Arizona State women's tennis team will have one of their biggest tests of the season as they host top-ranked Stanford (19-1; 7-1 Pac-10) and tenth-ranked California (14-4; 6-1 Pac-10) this weekend at the Whiteman Tennis Center on the ASU campus.
Friday, the Sun Devils will take on the Cardinal at 1:30 p.m. Last time the two met, Stanford squeezed out the victory with the final doubles match of the day. Singles were played outside and split three matches apiece. Rain began to fall and pushed the doubles matches inside. Karin Palme and Reka Cseresnyes lost to Jennifer Heiser and Sarah Pestieau, 8-6, giving Stanford the fifth and final point.
Saturday, ASU will host California at noon. The Golden Bears defeated the Sun Devils, 7-2, in their first meeting this season in Berkeley.
Cardinal and Golden Bears: Defending national champions and current No. 1, the Cardinal are lead by a slue of ranked players. Julie Scott is ranked fourth in the country followed by No. 15 Teryn Ashley, No. 16 Anne Kremer, No. 87 Ania Bleszynski, and No. 88 Jennifer Heiser. Only Florida, with six, has more players ranked. Stanford compiled a perfect 18-0 record before they ran into UCLA last week and dropped their first match of the season, 5-4. As a team they have a singles record of 100-20 in dual match play. Anne Kremer has notched an 11-5 record playing the No. 1 position, while Julie Scott is 14-1 in the No. 2 position. One of Kremer's loses came at the hands of Sun Devil Reka Cseresnyes, when the two met in Stanford with Cseresnyes prevailing 6-4, 6-3.
The Golden Bears are a team highly improved from last season. Currently, No. 10 California features three ranked players including sixth-ranked Amanda Augustus, No. 34 Esther Knox, and No. 55 Claire Curran. Augustus has recorded a 22-5 singles mark on the season. Playing the No. 1 position she is 14-3. She is also strong in doubles with partner Amy Jensen. The two have a No. 1 doubles position record of 14-3 in dual match play and 19-4 overall. ASU's Karin Palme and Katy Propstra were the only two Sun Devils to record victories last time the two teams met.
Coming Up: The Sun Devils will travel to Tucson, Saturday April 18, to end their regular season. The Wildcats currently hold the No. 18 ranking and will try to sweep ASU for the season. The Devils have a goal of their own and a little score to settle as well. The Wildcats defeated the Sun Devils in their first meeting of the season in Tempe, 5-4. ASU will try to repeat last season as the two teams knocked each other off on the opponents home court.
Friday, April 10 #1 Stanford Cardinal 1:30 p.m. Tempe, Ariz.Saturday, April 11 #10 California Golden Bears Noon Tempe, Ariz.