Denise Muresan single-handedly defeated the ASU women’s tennis team at the Thunderbird Invitational this past weekend.

The Michigan junior knocked off four straight Sun Devils to claim the tournament individual title, including top-seeded ASU junior Kelcy McKenna in the final match.

“[She was] the Devil killer for sure,” ASU coach Sheila McInerney said jokingly of Muresan.

On her way to the title, Muresan defeated ASU sophomore Michelle Brycki 7-6, 6-1, ASU junior Micaela Hein, 7-6, 6-2, ASU senior Nadia Abdala 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, and capped it off with the victory over McKenna 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.

Every point in the final match came down to the wire, but early deficits caused McKenna to lose momentum.

“I wasn’t focused enough on each point,” McKenna said. “It wasn’t enough consistent, good tennis.”

McKenna fell behind in the first and third set 3-0, and the second set 4-1.

She climbed back in the first set to win 7-5 but failed to rally in the following two.

“It’s all about momentum,” McInerney said. “Usually when you fall down 3-0, it is hard to come back.”

McInerney said McKenna had several unforced errors and had trouble coming back against a good player.

“Denise is a great competitor,” McInerney said.

Muresan was seeded seventh in the tournament and played five individual matches over three days.

In her return to the court for the first time this season, Abdala advanced to the semifinals before falling to Muresan.

“It felt amazing,” Abdala said of her return.

She defeated her first opponent, Michigan sophomore Michelle Sulahian, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, and her second opponent, California freshman Annie Goransson 6-3, 6-4, before facing the eventual champion.

“For her to get her feet wet again was really good,” McInerney said.
Abdala sat out her final match on Sunday due to fatigue from the previous days’ matches.

In doubles action, Abdala and sophomore Sianna Simmons defeated Michigan’s duo of Muresan and junior Rika Tatsuno 8-5. Additionally, the ASU team of McKenna and junior Ashlee Brown handed Ohio State’s Christina Keesey (senior) and Paloma Escobedo (junior) an 8-3 loss, and ASU senior Amanda Martin paired up with OSU freshman Kara Cecil to beat Cal’s tandem of sophomores Stephany Chang and Catalina Visico 8-5.

The Thunderbird Invitational marked the final tournament of the fall season for the Sun Devils, and McInerney said it was a good way to send the team into the offseason.

“It’s nice to be home the last tournament of the fall,” she said.
The team will next compete in the Freeman Memorial Tournament on Jan. 15 in Las Vegas.

Reach the reporter at nathan.meacham@asu.edu.