No. 20 ASU women's tennis shut out GCU 7-0 in its season opener on Monday in Tempe.
ASU won each of its matches in straight sets and secured four shutout sets.
The Sun Devils worked quickly to secure the doubles point, as two pairings — freshman Marianna Argyrokastriti and senior Sasa Klanecek, along with senior Tereza Kolarova and freshman Giulia Morlet — each secured 6-0 shutouts against their opponents to head into the singles matches leading 1-0.
Despite ASU having already won the doubles point, senior Ilze Hattingh and junior Cali Jankowski continued their match, winning it 6-3 against sophomore Natasha Puehse and junior Jana Weiss of GCU.
Argyrokastriti and Kolarova only surrendered one point apiece in their singles matches, quickly defeating each of their opponents in straight sets.
Argyrokastriti won the first set of her singles match against Weiss 6-1 and shut her out in the second.
Kolarova came out strong in her match, securing a shutout in her first set against GCU freshman Taylor Andersen. Kolarova would later win 6-1 in the second set to secure the second singles point for ASU.
Jankowski would secure the final point needed to win the game for ASU by winning her singles match against freshman Aline Buhr 6-3, 6-2.
The teams continued the remainder of the singles matches, with Morlet securing a win against graduate student Emilia Occhipinti 6-2, 6-1, Hattingh finishing her match on the first court in straight sets and junior Domenika Turkovic winning in straight sets with a tight 7-5 finish in the second set.
"It is pretty hard to play (the) first match," Hattingh said. "It is not easy, especially with the nerves on the court. I don’t think I played well, but I brought out the win."
After spending months training in singles against teammates and not other opponents, ASU coach Sheila McInerney was pleased with the performance her team gave in their season opener.
"We were certainly the better team, and it was nice to see Marianna (Argyrokastriti) and Giulia (Morlet) do great in their first matches and have a lot of energy," McInerney said.
ASU will take on Louisiana State next on Jan. 23 in Austin, Texas at 9 a.m. MST as part of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff Weekend.
Reach the reporter at lhertz@asu.edu and follow @laurenrachell_ on Twitter.
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