The upcoming Pac-10 Championships represent tough competition for the ASU women’s tennis team, as they do every year.
Defending national champion and top-ranked Stanford will likely be the toughest team to beat, as it just finished a perfect season.
The Pac-10 Championships will take place from April 28 to May 1 at the Ojai Valley Athletic Club in Ojai, Calif.
1. Stanford (23-0, 8-0 Pac-10)
No. 1 Stanford was the only unbeaten team in Division I women’s tennis this season.
The Cardinal extended their home-court winning streak to 179 consecutive matches, and the last time Stanford suffered a loss was in February 2010, when UCLA won 6-1 in Los Angeles.
The Cardinal have won three of the last four Pac-10 Championships, and are looking to win in back-to-back years. Six of Stanford’s players are ranked in singles, with the top-ranked player being No. 3 senior Hilary Barte. Stanford also has two ranked doubles teams.
2. UCLA (18-5, 7-1 Pac-10)
No. 4 UCLA has a deep lineup with five players ranked in singles and three ranked doubles teams.
The Bruins feature No. 43 senior Noelle Hickey, No. 59 junior McCall Jones, No. 72 senior Andrea Remynse, No. 92 freshman Courtney Dolehide and No. 109 sophomore Pamela Montez.
UCLA’s only Pac-10 losses this season came against top-ranked Stanford and Cal. UCLA fought hard against Stanford, but was unable to upset the Cardinal and fell 6-1.
UCLA fell 4-3 to Cal on Feb. 4 in a non-conference matchup, but defeated Cal 4-3 in their second meeting on March 26. Thanks to the victory, UCLA won the Pac-10 point.
3. ASU (16-6, 4-2 Pac-10)
No. 12 ASU plays well in tight situations and has recorded several upsets this season, including two against USC.
The Sun Devils battled back from a 0-3 deficit against USC on March 16 to take a 4-3 win and took a 6-1 victory on April 8. ASU also upset Cal on March 12, giving the Sun Devils three victories against top-15 teams.
ASU has three players ranked in singles, including No. 12 freshman Jacqueline Cako, No. 16 senior Kelcy McKenna and No. 68 senior Micaela Hein. The duo of McKenna and Hein are ranked No. 24 in doubles.
4. California (16-6, 6-2 Pac-10)
No. 8 Cal features junior Jana Juricova, the No. 1 player in the nation.
The Golden Bears also have three other ranked players in No. 19 senior Mari Andersson, No. 52 sophomore Tayler Davis and No. 80 sophomore Annie Goransson. Cal also has two ranked doubles teams.
Cal swept three Pac-10 teams this season, Washington State, Oregon and UA, and the Golden Bears’ only Pac-10 losses came against Stanford and UCLA.
Cal played ASU twice this season, falling 4-3 in their first meeting, a non-conference dual, and winning 4-3 in the second.
5. USC (15-6, 4-4 Pac-10)
No. 15 USC has taken Pac-10 victories over Washington, Washington State, UA and Oregon.
The Women of Troy feature No. 2 senior Maria Sanchez, as well as No. 23 sophomore Danielle Lao and No. 99 freshman Kaitlyn Christian.
The tandem of Sanchez and Christian are ranked No. 3 in doubles. USC also has two other ranked doubles teams.
USC was unable to beat ASU in two matches this season, one in Los Angeles and the other in Tempe.
6. Washington (12-10, 2-6 Pac-10)
No. 26 Washington only earned Pac-10 wins over Washington State and UA this season.
No. 5 junior Denise Dy and No. 14 senior Venise Chan are UW’s strongest forces. Dy and Chan both took singles victories in the Stanford match, although the Huskies still fell 5-2.
Dy ended her singles season with a 29-5 record, while Chan has 97 career victories in singles.
Dy and senior Aleksandra Krsljanin are ranked No. 61 in doubles play.
7. UA (15-9, 2-6 Pac-10)
No. 31 UA will likely have a tough time in the Pac-10s, as the team hasn’t played a match since April 8, when it suffered its first home loss of the season to UCLA, 7-0.
The Wildcats also missed out on playing several top-ranked teams during the regular season.
UA played too many matches early in the season and was forced to forfeit the Stanford, USC and ASU matches.
UA’s only Pac-10 victories were over Washington State and Oregon, both ranked in the bottom of the Pac-10.
8. Washington State (13-10, 1-7 Pac-10)
The Cougars got their only Pac-10 win in the last match of the season with a 5-2 victory against Oregon.
WSU features one ranked doubles team, sophomore Liudmila Vasilieva and sophomore Ksenia Googe at No. 88, the first since 2008.
9. Oregon (7-15, 1-7 Pac-10)
The Ducks had a repeat season, ending up with the same record as they did in 2010.
The only difference was that the Ducks got their only Pac-10 win against UW instead of WSU.
Oregon took a close 4-3 win against the Huskies on March 11, but fell to all other Pac-10 teams.
Senior Pavlina Smatova accumulated 23 doubles wins and 21 singles wins during the season.
Reach the reporter at nicole.klauss@asu.edu
