The lone underclassmen on the ASU tennis team's roster entered her first year with high expectations.
At Skyview High School in Washington, freshman Sammi Hampton was a four-time state champion, the top-ranked recruit in the state and the No. 1 overall prospect in the Northwest Region.
Hampton had offers from some of the top tennis schools in the country, but said her decision to play at ASU came down to the people in the program.
"I had a lot of interest from schools toward then end," she said. "But Sheila (McInerney) was there the whole time. That meant a lot to me. And I loved the team here, too."
After stepping onto campus, Hampton struggled to find her place on the team, admittedly letting nerves get the best of her.
"Those first couple practices, I was so nervous," she said. "I kind of had no idea what was going on. It was all pretty hectic."
Hampton's difficulty in practice continued into her matches during the fall 2015 semester. She suffered first round exits in both the ASU Thunderbird and Palm Springs Invitational.
After her loss in the Palm Springs Invite, Hampton sought assistance from the team's mental trainer, who helped her deal with some confidence issues heading into the spring season.
Although Hampton wouldn't get into the specifics of the meetings, whatever was said must have worked. She won each of her first two matches of the spring against Notre Dame and Northwestern as team play began. Hampton points to these wins as the turning point of the year for her personally.
"I came from high school where I was winning quite often, and then I come here and it’s like bang, everyone’s that good," Hampton said. "Once I got a couple wins under my belt, I started to get going."
Hampton certainly did get going, winning her first nine matches of the spring season on court number five. Junior Gussie O'Sullivan, who typically plays along side Hampton on court number six, said the change has not been unnoticed. O'Sullivan has lost just one match this spring, creating a solid duo on the lower courts for the 19th-ranked Sun Devils.
"I love playing next to Sammi, she's been great for us," O'Sullivan said. "We really feed off each other. She's playing with a lot of confidence right now."
There has been a bit of adversity for Hampton this spring. After winning her first nine matches, she suffered a foot injury against Long Beach State on Feb. 21. The setback caused her to miss two consecutive matches against Ohio State and California, the top two teams in the country. Hampton said what she first thought to be a blister turned out to be a bit more serious.
"It wasn't like a slow gradual thing," she said. "It really just came out of nowhere. I got done with the match and by the next day I couldn't walk."
Although she's returned to the lineup, Hampton has felt the effects on the injury. She's split her four matches since returning on March 4, with losses coming against some tough competition in Stanford and Oregon. Head coach Sheila McInerney said missing that amount of time can be tough on any player.
"She was a little rusty," she said. "It's tough missing two weeks of practice like that, especially for a freshman being thrown into the thick of the Pac-12 schedule."
Hampton will look to get back to her winning ways when No. 19 ASU takes on unranked San Diego State this Saturday at the Whiteman Tennis Center. It will be the first of three straight non-conference opponents for the Sun Devils, including a rare double header on Monday against Northern Arizona and the University of Montana.
"I feel good now," Hampton said. "I'm in a good place. I'm just ready to help the team this weekend."
Related links:
ASU tennis ends Oregon's nine-game win streak
Reach the reporter at mfaye@asu.edu or follow @mattGfaye on Twitter.
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