Senior Desirae Krawczyk is getting used to this whole winning thing.
The Palm Desert native continued her hot-streak close to home Sunday afternoon, kicking off the spring season for the Sun Devils by defeating No. 18 Cathrine Harrison of UCLA to win the Palm Springs Invitational.
"It's a great feeling to win a tournament at home with my family and closest friends out there to watch, so it was something special," Krawczyk told TheSunDevils.com after the match.
Krawczyk has been something special indeed, winning her last two competitions in dominant fashion. The Sun Devils’ senior leader wrapped up the fall season with a win at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational, taking all five of her victories in straight sets.
In this tournament, however, Krawczyk played the role of underdog. She cruised through to the quarterfinals before upsetting No. 20 Taylor Davidson from Stanford, 6-4, 6-4.
Krawczyk then defeated Arizona’s Lauren Marker, ranked 64th nationally, in the semis before taking home the title over Harrison Sunday.
"I was happy for Des as she really played well and dictated both of her matches yesterday and won a tough one today," head coach Sheila McInerney told TheSunDevils.com. "Her first serve has really improved and it was a huge weapon."
A few other Sun Devils had some success as well. In doubles, junior Kassidy Jump and freshman Sammi Hampton reached the semi-finals. Senior Ebony Panoho and junior Alexandra Osborne joined their teammates in the semi's, however, neither duo could take the next step to the championship round.
Senior Stephanie Vlad did not compete in the tournament due to a stress reaction in her shin and will be re-evaluated when the team returns home.
The Sun Devils now look ahead to next weekend's trip to Stillwater, Oklahoma, where ASU will face off against Northwestern, Oklahoma State, and Notre Dame.
Reach the reporter at mfaye@asu.edu or follow @mattGfaye on Twitter.
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