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ASU tennis striving for the top; opens Pac-12 play against Cal

ASU tennis will look to prove itself in a tough Pac-12 as the Sun Devils begin a stretch of five straight conference matches.

Desirae Krawczyk and Stephanie Vlad anticipate the return during a doubles match against the U Penn Quakers on Monday, March 9, 2015, at the Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe.

Desirae Krawczyk and Stephanie Vlad anticipate the return during a doubles match against the U Penn Quakers on Monday, March 9, 2015, at the Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe.


Coming off of a tough loss to then-No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday in Columbus, ASU tennis looks to prove its worth in conference play as the team begins a stretch of five straight Pac-12 opponents.

The No. 36 Sun Devils open up their conference slate Friday against current No. 2 team California at the Whiteman Tennis Center. ASU will then turnaround Saturday to face No. 20 Stanford in a tough back-to-back for the team.

"This is what you come to school here for," said head coach Sheila McInerney. "It's what you sign up for when you play in the Pac-12."

The Sun Devils head into conference play at 6-3 overall, but have yet to earn a victory against an opponent ranked in the top 30. ASU's highest win came on Jan. 24 when the team defeated then No. 32 Notre Dame. Senior Desirae Krawczyk said despite the lack of wins against top opponents, the team feels it matches up well against anybody.

"We want to go out there and show some of these schools that we can be right there with them," she said. "I think we're capable of doing that, we just have to go do it in the matches this weekend."

While it remains to be seen if ASU can compete with the Pac-12 elites this season, there's little doubt that Krawczyk can handle the best the country has to offer. After an up-and-down start to the season, Krawczyk is coming off an upset win over the country's top player, Ohio State freshman Francesca Di Lorenzo. The Sun Devils' senior leader she just concentrated on what she could control.

"I didn't really care that she was number one, I didn't really think about it," said Krawczyk. "I just went out there and played my game. I think that's what I have to do moving forward."

Krawczyk will face yet another top 10 opponent Friday when she battles fourth ranked Klara Fabikova of California on court one. Krawczyk has split each of her previous two matches against top ten competition so far, falling to Pepperdine's Luisa Stefani before pulling the upset over Di Lorenzo last weekend.

The Sun Devils will begin conference play without one of their most consistent players this spring. Freshman Sammi Hampton, who has yet to drop a singles match all season, has been ruled out by McInerney for both matches this weekend.  Hampton suffered a foot injury during ASU's win over Long Beach State on Feb. 21, and was still using crutches at practice Wednesday.

Junior Alexandra Osborne will replace Hampton in the top six once again. Osborne played on court number six against Ohio State in place of Hampton and did the same for the first month of the spring season when senior Stephanie Vlad was out with a similar foot injury. 

"It's exciting to get back in the lineup, exciting to represent ASU," said Osborne. "Obviously you don't want to lose Sammi (Hampton), but there's some really positive vibes around the team. ... I'm looking forward to contributing."

First serve Friday is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

Related Links:

Krawczyk stuns nations' top player but ASU tennis fall at No. 2 Ohio State

Krawczyk's tough schedule continues as ASU tennis visits Ohio State


Reach the reporter at mfaye@asu.edu or follow @mattGfaye on Twitter.

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