When senior Desirae Krawczyk takes the court this weekend for ASU tennis against freshman Francesca Di Lorenzo, the No. 1 player in the country, it will be just another day on the job.
Krawczyk battled her way through a tough schedule this season on court one, and it's not going to get any easier.
"I've had some tough, grind-it-out matches so far," Krawczyk said. "I just need to keep competing, keep fighting. This is my senior year, I'm supposed to enjoy it."
Krawczyk started the spring season off with a bang, winning the Palm Springs Invitational on Jan. 15. Since then, things have been up and down. The Palm Desert, California native has gone 4-4 after taking her hometown tournament.
"I think she's just putting a lot of pressure on herself right now," head coach Sheila McInerney said. "She hasn't played as well as she could have the last four or five matches."
Although Krawczyk may not be playing her best tennis as of late, her record may tell more about her opponents than of herself. Each of her four losses this season have came to players currently ranked in the latest ITA College Tennis polls.
She'll get another chance on Sunday when No. 24 ASU takes on Di Lorenzo and No. 2 Ohio State.
Di Lorenzo will be the second top-ten opponent Krawczyk has faced in the last four matches. On Feb. 15, she lost to Pepperdine freshman Luisa Stefani, who is currently ranked No. 4 nationally. Krawczyk comes in at No. 36.
"None of these matches at No. 1 are going to be easy; it's like the finals of a tournament every time she plays," McInerney said. "She just needs to relax and play her game."
As Krawczyk labors against some of the top competition in the country, the lower courts have carried ASU to victory over the last few matches. Freshman Sammi Hampton and junior Gussie O'Sullivan will each put their undefeated singles records on the line Sunday on the fifth and sixth courts respectively. Senior Stephanie Vlad has also had some success since returning from injury, going 2-1 on court No. 4.
"We know those top courts are all going to have really tough matches," Hampton said. "We try to do what we can to help them out."
Ohio State will mark the last non-conference opponent until March 28, when ASU will play three non-conference games before finishing the final two weeks with Pac-12 play.
First serve is slated for noon on Sunday in Ohio.
Reach the reporter at mfaye@asu.edu or follow @mattGfaye on Twitter
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