Senior Joanna Smith returns with a backhand against BYU’s Toby Miclat, Saturday, Feb. 14. Smith contributed a 1-6, 7-6, 7-5 win to the Sun Devils' 4-3 victory over the Cougars. (Shiva Balasubramanian/The State Press)Coming off of a 10-day break, ASU tennis looked to rebound against its fourth-straight opponent ranked within the top 75 of the ITA poll.
Last season, the two teams played a hotly contested match in Tempe, as ASU outlasted BYU 4-3. Head coach Sheila McInerney said both teams were returning squads that for the most part had been involved in the battle last year and the experience from last year’s match would play a role in how the team would perform.
The Sun Devils would have their hands full early on against their familiar foe before pulling away.
“We hadn’t played in a couple weeks, so I think that’s important (to win),” McInereny said. “I thought we came out a little tentative in the doubles, a little tight and nervous, but they sort of righted the ship.”
For the fifth consecutive time during the dual-match season, the team managed to claim the point from the doubles session.
Junior Ebony Panoho and sophomore Alex Osborne defeated BYU seniors Meghan Sheehan-Dizon and Morgan Anderson-Littlewood 6-3 in the No. 3 matchup.
The No. 2 pairing of sophomore Kassidy Jump and senior Joanna Smith lost during the doubles session for the first time this dual-match season, suffering a 2-6 defeat at the hands of BYU junior Nicolette Tran and sophomore Savannah Ware.
The split during the first two matches left the decisive point up to the No. 1 match between juniors Desirae Krawczyk and Stephanie Vlad and Cougars sophomores Mayci Jones and Toby Miclat.
The game did not disappoint, finishing with a tiebreak. Krawczyk and Vlad would overcome a deficit during the seven-set game and two BYU match points during the tiebreak game before finally winning 7-6 (8-6).
“I think that we were just a bit tight in our doubles,” Krawczyk said. “They started missing more and we just needed to put more balls in play. Being aggressive at the net was one thing that we did and close in on them because they weren’t moving as much, so that helped.”
The Sun Devils have now claimed all possible points during the doubles session through five games of this dual-match season.
In the singles session, the team was able to assert themselves throughout the full course of the game.
“I thought we did a good job in the singles, coming out really strong,” McInerney said. “We told them, because it had happened a few times where we won the doubles, started strong in the singles, then let up a bit. But I think today, everybody closed in straight sets that won the first set.”
Throughout the practice week, McInerney and her players focused on simulating match play and conditioning. She had said during the previous week that her team needed to finish out matches it was getting a great start on.
The team responded extremely well, doing what its coach asked by finishing off its opponent.
“I think that it was helpful that they got off to a strong start and kept it,” McInerney said.
Vlad quickly defeated Sheehan-Dizon 6-2, 6-1 for the team’s first win during the singles session. Jump followed suit, defeating junior Nicolette Tran, 7-6, 6-2.
Krawczyk would go on to defeat Jones, 6-4, 6-2, claiming the team’s fourth point to clinch the win. Sophomore Gussie O’Sullivan would defeat Anderson-Littlewood 7-5, 6-2 to extend the team’s lead.
However, the most intriguing match of the day was the last one that finished. Smith dropped the first set to BYU’s Miclat 1-6, then fought back to win the second set 7-6.
“In the first set, I had probably three or four deuce games, and all of them went her way,” Smith said. “At one point, I was just kind of like, ‘The games are really close. I’m just gonna keep going and eventually I think the momentum is gonna swing.’ And in the second set it did.”
As more ASU players finished their matches, her teammates began to watch. She would trail 5-4 in the third set before rallying to win the final one 7-5, concluding the team’s 6-1 win.
Smith said that having her teammates' support was exciting and despite being nervous, her awareness of the team having already won the match allowed her to play more freely.
“It’s always nice to have my teammates out on the court always cheering,” said Smith. “It’s a fun feeling.”
Having gotten back on the right track, the Sun Devils now turn their attention to Friday looking to build off the momentum of their first win of the month.
“With these kids getting into a rhythm, it’ll be nice for them to play later again this week,” McInerney said. “We’ll be ready to go by Friday, and it will be good for us.”
The Sun Devils will next take on NAU on Friday in Tempe at 1:30 p.m.
Reach the reporter at kajone31@asu.edu or follow@kaelenjoneson Twitter.
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