For a roster that has seen so much overhaul, ASU women's tennis has responded by finding a balance between the team's veteran leader and emerging youth.
The program's biggest change came in the form of legendary head coach Sheila McInerney retiring after 40 years at the helm. McInerney won 589 games and helped the Sun Devils advance to 36 NCAA tournaments during her tenure.
Replacing someone of McInerney's stature is always difficult but head coach Jamea Jackson has stepped into those shoes admirably. Jackson previously led Princeton and was named the 2024 Ivy League Coach of the Year for her efforts in helping the Tigers go 16-7 and win a back-to-back Ivy League title.
The departure of seniors Giulia Morlet and Marianna Argyrokastriti along with sophomore Chelsea Fontenel, the team's top three singles players from 2023, didn't help the Sun Devils' case. Morlet went 9-5 at singles No.1, Fontenel was a mainstay at singles No. 2 going 6-3 and Argyrokastriti finished 7-3 at singles No.3
But the development of the team's underclassmen combined with a strong recruiting class have been pivotal in the team maintaining a similar level of success. ASU finished last year at No. 26 in the ITA rankings and currently sit at No. 33 with two games remaining before the Big 12 tournament.
Through 19 games, the Sun Devils have reached the same record as they did last season at 12-7 but boast a stronger conference record, going 7-4 in Big 12 play compared to 4-4 in the Pac-12 last season.
Senior Patricija Spaka, who primarily operates at singles No. 3, is the only upperclassman playing singles. Sophomores Sara Svetac and Emilija Tverijonaite have alternated between singles No. 1 and No. 2 and gone 11-3 and 10-5, respectively.
"I think that's the beauty of it because there's a lot of schools that you don't necessarily get your shot if you do have a lot of upperclassmen and you definitely want those experiences as a competitor, like you crave them," Jackson said. "So they've gotten the experiences, and to their credit, they've made them count."
The incoming class has also played a huge role. Freshman Lily Taylor began the year 10-3 at doubles No. 1 alongside Spaka. After consecutive losses, she moved down to doubles No. 2 with Svetac where the pair has gone 2-1. Freshman Karin Altori went 9-5 alongside Svetac at doubles No. 2 and has compiled a 7-6 singles record across various positions.
Perhaps the biggest emergence is freshman Aiya Nupbay, who is 5-1 at singles No. 6 and won three straight matches at doubles No. 3 beside Tverijonaite. With such a young group, Jackson and her coaching staff have spent practices dealing with issues beyond technique and in-game strategy.
"We had been working and working and working and working on how we respond to things in practice," Jackson said after the team's 4-0 victory over No. 37 TCU. "So I was super proud of them, to see them be willing to go there in that moment, and then also to be able to come up with the goods."
With no juniors and just one senior, there were very few experienced players to guide ASU forward. Beyond their play last year, the trio of Morlet, Argyrokastriti and senior Rachel Hanford also made up the primary leadership group for the team but ASU lost all three.
That role has been filled by Svetac who Jackson calls the team's "fearless leader" who has a "presence about her" during her singles performances. In the TCU matchup, it was her energy during the doubles point that made the difference.
"This was the first time that I saw it in doubles — her fire, her intensity, she was just locked in, and I think it carried to the rest of the team," Jackson said.
Tverijonaite and Svetac are the only two Sun Devils ranked in the singles top 50 at No. 49 and No. 45, respectively. Svetac's emergence as one of the best players in the country has coincided with her leadership.
"The important thing is that, with them, you know what they like, what they don't like," Svetac said. "Some of them when you're too energetic it puts pressure on them so I feel like knowing them and kind of calculating how much I need to give like that helps them a lot and then obviously when they see me on the court, I feel like that also helps them."
Edited by Jack Barron, Abigail Beck and Natalia Jarrett.
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Pratham is a sophomore studying sports journalism with a minor in business. This is his fourth semester with The State Press.
