With the collegiate tennis regular season underway for most of the Pac-12, the conference landscape is already taking shape.
The Pac-12 features defending national champion Stanford, NCAA semifinalist California Berkeley and USC – who secured their 25th straight NCAA appearance in 2016.
Head coach Sheila McInerney’s Sun Devils are no strangers to postseason battles. ASU appeared in 29 straight NCAA tournaments and last season reached the second round before being knocked off by Auburn.
McInerney said this season’s squad has improved faster than a majority of her previous teams. Their schedule in March and April is packed with top-10 opponents, including No. 3 Pepperdine and No. 5 Ohio State.
“We’ve got Nevada, UNLV is going to be a good team and then San Diego and San Diego State on the road,” McInerney said. “The Pepperdine, Ohio State weekend is going to be big, but we cannot jump ahead.”
Around the Pac-12: Last Weekend’s Storylines
Bruins earn impressive win: Despite a disappointing end to the 2015-2016 season, UCLA proved formidable last weekend in Atlanta. Last weekend, the Bruins topped No. 20 Kentucky without losing a point, 4-0, and hung with No. 11 Georgia Tech before falling, 4-2, as part of ITA Kickoff Weekend.
National Indoors: Cal will look to defend its title at the ITA Women’s Division I National Team Indoors Championship, and for the second straight season, the Golden Bears are the only Pac-12 representative.
Players of the Weekend
Jada Hart | Redshirt Freshman | UCLA
Hart clinched the overall match for the Bruins in singles, 6-3, 6-2, over sophomore Justina Mikulskyte of Kentucky. Before that, in a matchup of top-10 doubles pairs, Hart and freshman partner Ena Shibahara defeated No. 1 senior Aldila Sutjiadi and junior Mami Adachi, 6-3, to clinch the doubles point. Hart earned conference player of the week honors.
Hart clinched the Bruins 4-0 victory over Kentucky with a 6-3, 6-2 win at #4! pic.twitter.com/DYMsL8mj3I
— UCLA Women's Tennis (@uclawtennis) January 28, 2017
Savannah Slaysman | Freshman | Arizona State
If it weren’t for Hart’s performance, Slaysman’s come from behind, clinching match victory against then-No. 16 South Carolina could have easily earned her player of the week. Slaysman’s win earned ASU their highest team ranking since March 22, 2011.
WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER! @savslaysman rallies despite cramping to clinch match over #16 South Carolina, 4-3! #ASUvsSC pic.twitter.com/rXV7NBo0UA
— Sun Devil Tennis (@sundeviltennis) January 29, 2017
WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER! @savslaysman rallies despite cramping to clinch match over #16 South Carolina, 4-3! #ASUvsSC pic.twitter.com/rXV7NBo0UA
— Sun Devil Tennis (@sundeviltennis) January 29, 2017Power Rankings
Rankings based on latest ITA rankings, released Feb. 1
Notes from Practice:
The team did not leave Lubbock, Texas, the site of their ITA Kickoff Regional, until Monday morning. As a result, McInerney gave her team Tuesday and Wednesday off, before returning to practice on Thursday afternoon.
Match Rescheduled:
Originally, McInerney wanted to reschedule Jan. 20 rained out dual-match with NAU for the week of Feb. 6.
Today, due to a scheduling conflict with the Lumberjacks, McInerney said the match would instead take place on March 24 at 1:30 p.m.
Injury Update:
Over the weekend, sophomore Sammi Hampton suffered a stress reaction in her shin, an injury she originally suffered last season. After a long match with Texas Tech on Jan. 29, McInerney said Hampton began to feel similar pains.
Since returning from Lubbock, Hampton has been getting regular treatment, and McInerney shut her down from practices this week. At this time, Hampton's timetable for return is unknown.
Reach the reporter at jpjacqu1@asu.edu or follow @joejacquezaz on Twitter.
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