The ASU women's tennis team didn't leave the Cal Nike Invitational in Berkley, California, with any titles, but it still made a strong statement to start the 2016-17 season.
"I think overall we played really well," head coach Sheila McInerney said. "It's important to get some match play in."
Ranked No. 87 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association preseason singles rankings, senior Kassidy Jump reached the final of the ITA Blue Singles bracket. Her run to the championship included an upset of the No.1 seed, senior Denise Starr of California.
The top-flight singles semis feature Bears v @sundeviltennis: No. 1 seed Denise v No. 3 Jump on ct 1 & No. 4 Karla v No. 8 Hampton on ct 2
— Cal Women's Tennis (@CalWomensTennis) October 2, 2016
The top-flight singles semis feature Bears v @sundeviltennis: No. 1 seed Denise v No. 3 Jump on ct 1 & No. 4 Karla v No. 8 Hampton on ct 2
— Cal Women's Tennis (@CalWomensTennis) October 2, 2016
The top-flight singles semis feature Bears v @sundeviltennis: No. 1 seed Denise v No. 3 Jump on ct 1 & No. 4 Karla v No. 8 Hampton on ct 2
— Cal Women's Tennis (@CalWomensTennis) October 2, 2016
"She has never beaten Denise before, I think that was probably the most impressive thing," McInerny said. "They're both seniors and it has always been close but no cigar."
Jump, the tournament's No. 3 seed ended up losing in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, to another player from the Golden Bears, fourth-seeded junior Karla Popovic.
Despite this loss against a red-hot opponent, McInerney said Jump's performance is a confidence booster for future tournaments.
"She (Popovic) is a very good player," McInerney said. "It's a great win for her (Jump's defeat of Starr), but hopefully she can build on that and it will make her even stronger."
On the gold side of the singles bracket, junior transfer Kelly Anderson reached the final match in her Sun Devil debut.
Anderson worked hard on her technique, specifically her backhand, during practice leading up to the tournament. McInerney is pleased to see those changes already paying off in matches, something she acknowledged doesn't always happen.
"Of all the kids on the team, we have probably made the most changes in her (Anderson) style and technique," McInerney said. "She is hitting the backhand with confidence.
"We're almost trying to teach her how to play tennis, how to construct points, and I think she has really taken that to heart. I think she did a really good job of that this weekend, no question."
Her road to the gold championship also included an upset. She defeated No. 3 seed junior Jaimee Gilbertson of UC Santa Barbara in three sets, 7-5, 6-7(6), 6-3 in the semifinals.
Prior to that match, she defeated sophomore Isabella vonEbbe of UC Davis and sophomore Joselyn Treyes Albarracin of the University of San Francisco in the first and second rounds. Anderson then won her quarterfinal match in straight sets, 7-5 7-5, over junior
Due to time constraints, Anderson and freshman Jacqueline Pelletier of Saint Mary's were unable to compete in the gold final. Anderson finished with an undefeated record of 4-0.
"She had a tough match in the semifinals," McInerney said. "She didn't get done until four and we had a six-thirty flight, and it would have been impossible to wait until 5 for her to play the final."
On the doubles side, Jump and her partner freshman Sammi Hampton reached the blue final match after defeating two teammates; Anderson and senior Gussie O'Sullivan.
Jada Hart and Terri Fleming of UCLA took down Jump and Hampton 8-7(4), but McInerney said she loves the pairing. Jump and Hampton compiled a 28-8 record as partners last season.
After being in the third spot last year, the pair will play higher in the lineup this season.
"They played more aggressively than they did last year, and they complement each other well," McInerney said. "Kassidy has a good backhand and Sammi has a good serve that allows Kassidy to be aggressive up at the net."
Overall, three of ASU's four teams reached the semis. While McInerney did admit that you can't do much better than that, she also indicated that the doubles draw wasn't super strong, indicating that improvement is needed.
In terms of other singles performances, freshman Savannah Slaysman went 1-3, O'Sullivan went 1-1, Hampton went 3-1, and senior Alexandra Osborne went 1-1.
Slaysman, O'Sullivan and Osborne also won their consolation matches.
At the end of the tournament, every ASU player competed and gained experience, which was the goal coming in to the tournament, according to McInerney.
"Everybody got into four singles matches and three doubles matches," she said. "The goal of your first tournament is to get a lot of matches in, and we did that."
Up Next:
ASU will not be in action again until the end of this month. McInerney indicated that all team members will participate in the Tennessee Fall Invitational (Oct. 28-30) at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
Reach the reporter at jjacquez@asu.edu or follow @joejacquezaz on Twitter.
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