The No. 26 Sun Devils (16-7, 6-4) closed out the dual-match regular season with a 7-0 sweep over rival No. 53 Arizona on senior day, avenging last season's home loss in Tucson.
“It was great,” head coach Sheila McInerney. “It’s certainly nice to beat the ‘Cats on senior day at home, and I’m really happy for Joanna and Leighann, who won their matches.”
The day opened with a ceremony directed by an emotional McInerney to acknowledge seniors Joanna Smith and Leighann Sahagun before the match began.
“Sometimes I get even tearier,” she said. “To see Leighann and Joanna — it goes by so fast. We’re really proud of them.”
Throughout the doubles session of the match, the Sun Devils were resilient en route to claiming the point from the half.
Smith and partner Kassidy Jump defeated Arizona’s sophomore Lauren Marker and junior Inge Hendrix, 8-4, in Smith’s final doubles match at Whiteman Tennis Center.
“I thought we came out in the doubles a little timid, a little nervous,” McInerney said. “We were the favorites today and sometimes that not so easy, but I thought Joanna and Kassidy really played well and that helped.”
Juniors Desirae Krawczyk and Stephanie Vlad (the No. 32 doubles pair in the country) defeated senior Briar Preston and junior Shayne Austin, 8-5, to capture the doubles point.
In singles, the players battled throughout on their way to a well-deserved sweep.
“I think getting the momentum and the point from the doubles was important,” McInerney said. The singles was a battle. It was tough.”
Smith and Sahagun each came away with wins in their last match on their home court, manning the No. 4 and 5 spots in the lineup, respectively.
Prior to the singles portion of the match, the two came together and gave each other some encouragement before taking the court for the last time.
“We were kind of like, ‘Let’s do this. Let’s go for it,’” Smith said. “Knowing that it was our last singles match out here we just wanted to play for each other and play to win. I’m really proud of her. I think she played really well, so I’m glad that we both got victories during the singles.”
“It meant the world to me,” Sahagun said of her win. She had never won against an opponent from Arizona prior to her win today.
“When I won it was just one of the best feelings I’ve had since I’ve been here,” she said.
“All-in-all it’s a great day,” McInerney said. “Everybody won, senior day against your rival at home — it was a good season. Hopefully this is just momentum building to the end.”
The Sun Devils will now prepare for the Pac-12 Championships, which will begin on Thursday, April 23, and take place in Ojai, Calif.
The NCAA Tournament will follow and commence on Saturday, May 9.
Today's results:
Singles
1. Desirae Krawczyk (ASU) def. Lauren Marker (UA), 7-6 (5), 6-3
2. Stephanie Vlad (ASU) def. Briar Preston (UA), 6-7 (3), 6-2, 10-6
3. Kassidy Jump (ASU) def. Laura Oldham (UA), 6-4, 6-1
4. Joanna Smith (ASU) def. Devin Chypyhia (UA), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
5. Leighann Sahagun (ASU) def. Shayne Austin (UA), 6-4, 7-5
6. Ebony Panoho (ASU) def. Inge Hendrix (UA), 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
1. Krawczyk/Vlad (ASU) def. Preston/Austin (UA), 8-5
2. Smith/Jump (ASU) def. Marker/Hendrix (UA), 8-4
3. Panoho/Osborne (ASU) vs Oldham/Chypyha (UA), 6-6, DNF
Reach the reporter at kajone31@asu.edu or follow @kaelenjones on Twitter.
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