After a tough loss against Pepperdine, ASU tennis salvaged its weekend with a 6-1 victory over UNLV.
Following the loss to the Waves (4-1), coach Sheila McInerney said she was disappointed in the way juniors Leighann Sahagun and Joanna Smith played in their doubles match. The two recovered on Sunday, winning their match 8-3.
“They were at the net a lot more than they were against the Pepperdine team,” McInerney said. “They took it upon themselves to be more aggressive.”
On court three of doubles play, sophomores Ebony Panoho and Stephanie Vlad won the point for ASU with an 8-3 victory.
Sophomore Desirae Krawczyk and freshman Kassidy Jump, who were moved to the No. 1 doubles spot at the start of the weekend, did not finish their match.
The doubles round was completed and ASU won the point.
There was a late lineup change heading into singles. After competing in doubles, Panoho was scratched due to a lingering wrist injury.
“She wasn’t feeling great,” McInerney said. “It was more precautionary.”
Jump took her spot on court four. Smith moved to five, and freshman Gussie O’Sullivan moved into the lineup at six.
Jump took Panoho’s place well. She won her match in two sets (6-2, 6-1).
Smith needed three sets to pull out the victory. After losing the first set 6-4, she pulled out the 6-2 victory to force a tiebreaker.
This set finished in her favor with a 10-5 victory.
Sahagun also took her match into a tiebreaker set. She won 6-3 in the first, and looked to be in control of the match.
“She won the first set, was up in the second, then just got a little sloppy,” McInerney said.
The tiebreaker set didn’t start well for Sahagun; McInerney said she fell behind 9-5 before fighting back and eking out an 11-9 victory.
“It was probably a position she shouldn’t have been in; she was clearly the better player,” McInerney said.
Krawczyk, on the other hand, did not stumble. After winning 6-1 in the first set, she shut out her opponent, junior Santa Shumilina, in set two (6-0).
Vlad had to work against senior Lucia Batta in the first set, but she eventually pulled out a 6-4 victory. The second set was not a challenge, and Vlad walked away with a 6-1 win.
O’Sullivan did not finish her match. After losing the first set 4-6, she grabbed a 3-2 lead in the second before the game was called.
“Certainly we were wanting to come away with two wins," McInerney said. "But I think the fact that we lost the first then won is second is certainly a good sign moving forward."
Reach the reporter at logan.newman@asu.edu, or on Twitter @Logan_Newsman
DOUBLES?
1. Desirae Krawczyk/Kassidy Jump (ASU) vs. Lucia Batta/Santa Shumilina (UNLV) DNF?
2. Joanna Smith/Leighann Sahagun (ASU) def. Iren Kotseva/Paola Artiga (UNLV) 8-3?
3. Ebony Panoho/Stephanie Vlad(ASU) def. Anett Ferenczi-Bako/Kamelia Dimitrova (UNLV) 8-3
SINGLES?
1. Stephanie Vlad (ASU) def. Lucia Batta (UNLV) 6-4, 6-?1.
2. Desirae Krawczyk (ASU) def. Santa Shumilina (UNLV) 6-1, 6-0?
3. Leighann Sahagun (ASU) def. Iren Kotseva (UNLV) 6-3, 3-6 (11-9)?
4. Kassidy Jump (ASU) def. Kamelia Dimitrova (UNLV) 6-2, 6-1?
5. Joanna Smith (ASU) def. Anett Ferenczi-Bako (UNLV) 4-6, 6-2 (10-5)?
6. Paola Artiga (UNLV) def. Gussie O'Sullivan (ASU) 4-6, 3-2 DNF
