Freshman Stephanie Vlad returns a ball during an ASU tennis practice on Sept. 19 prior to the Michigan Invitational. (Photo by Kyle Newman)After getting a week off, the ASU tennis team traveled to San Diego to compete in the USTA/ITA Southwest Regionals from Oct. 18-22.
Sophomore Leighann Sahagun competed in her first tournament of the year, pairing up with freshman Stephanie Vlad in doubles, where they upset the No. 4 UCLA pairing of sophomores Skylar Morton and Chanelle Van Nguyen 8-6 in the round of 16.
Vlad played well during the tournament, as she was the only victorious player for the Sun Devils on the first day.
Coach Sheila McInerney said Vlad played well by not making any unforced errors, and attacked when an opportunity was made available.
The Sun Devils went on to win four of five matches on the second day. Vlad received the only loss of the day to No. 3 UCLA sophomore Robin Anderson 6-3, 6-2.
McInerney said Sahagun had a good tournament competing in seven total matches — three doubles and three singles.
Sophomore Joanna Smith lost to Loyola Marymount freshman Kristine Kouyoumjian 7-5, 6-2 in the singles consolation quarterfinals.
Another noticeable match was on the second day when Sahagun and Vlad trounced over freshman Priscila Garcia and sophomore April Scatliffe of UCSB 8-3, which led them to the upset of No. 4 UCLA in the round of 16.
Sahagun and Vlad continued to the quarterfinals where they lost to sophomore Karolina Rozenberg and freshman Ebba Unden of LBSU, 8-3.
ASU continues its preseason play on Nov. 8-11 in Flushing, N.Y., for the National Individual Indoors tournament. This will be the Sun Devils’ fourth tournament of the year.
Reach the reporter at drosenbl@asu.edu
