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Senior Kassidy Jump wins the 22nd annual ASU Thunderbird Invitational

The Sun Devils ended the fall portion of the 2016-17 season on a high note

Junior Kelley Anderson competes in the singles main draw at the 2016 ASU Thunderbird Invitational in Tempe, Arizona, on Nov. 5, 2016.
Junior Kelley Anderson competes in the singles main draw at the 2016 ASU Thunderbird Invitational in Tempe, Arizona, on Nov. 5, 2016.

ASU women's tennis senior Kassidy Jump had one thing on her mind this weekend: to bring home the singles title at her home tournament, The Thunderbird Invitational.

Jump accomplished her goal, defeating her doubles partner sophomore Sammi Hampton in three sets, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2. With the win, she became the second-straight singles champion (fourth overall) from ASU in the tournament's 22-year history.

“It feels awesome,” Jump said. “It is definitely good for senior year, and I am glad I could end it (the fall) on a positive note.”

Desiree Krawczyk won last year's event and was cheering the team on as an alumnus this weekend.

ASU came into the tournament with the top three seeds: Jump, Hampton and junior transfer Nicole Fossa-Huergo, respectively.

Jump received a bye in the round of 32, and head coach Sheila McInerney said the top seed always expects to win.

"One of our goals for the weekend was to bring the kachinas back to ASU, and we did it with both winner and runner-up," McInerney said.

Hampton dictated play in the first set, jumping out to an early four games to love lead.

But the momentum swung in Jump's favor early in the second set. She cut down on unforced errors, played more at the top of the baseline, and seized momentum.

“It is a good learning experience for Sammi (Hampton), and it is a good way to close out her senior fall season for Kass (Kassidy Jump),” McInerney said.

The third-place match also featured two ASU players. Junior transfer Nicole Fossa-Huergo took care of senior Gussie O'Sullivan in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. Fossa-Huergo, the tournament's three seed, placed third and O'Sullivan took fourth.

The fall is collegiate tennis' preseason. Where a respective player finishes isn't heavily weighted. Instead, players assess their singles games and work on chemistry and strategy with their doubles partners.

As a result, teammates will often play one another. Jump said she struggles mentally in this situation, especially when the opponent is her doubles partner.

“I’ve always had a hard time playing friends,” Jump said. “I need to be able to pump myself up and I don’t want to have to get in there face while doing it.

“After the first set I wanted to get into it more and that definitely helped, but it is not fun playing your teammate."

Hampton faced a similar situation when she played Slaysman. They've been friends since crossing paths at the junior level.

"I didn't want to seem cocky because she is my friend.

"But it's fun, she is probably the person I would want to play on the team because I know when we're off the team, we would still be BFFs (Best Friends Forever)," Hampton said.

Junior transfer Kelley Anderson reached the quarterfinals before being bounced into the losers bracket by Jump in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Freshman Savannah Slaysman earned a berth in the round of eight but couldn't get past Hampton, 6-3, 6-3.

Doubles

For the weekend, ASU lost one doubles match.

Jump and Hampton looked like the top paring, winning all three of their matches. After going 4-0 in their debut at the Tennessee Fall Invitational, Slaysman and Anderson went five-for-five this weekend, continuing their high level of play.

O'Sullivan won two doubles matches with Hampton on Friday and Saturday. Mixing it up gave Jump extra rest time for her upcoming singles match.

Despite showing improvement on Friday and Saturday, McInerney felt her team surrendered to many easy points, and wanted more aggressive play on Sunday.

"I do think we served and returned better, those are two things that you can control, so from that standpoint it was much better today (Sunday) for sure," McInerney said. "The doubles competition wasn't the greatest so it is hard to tell. The good thing is the kids will have an opportunity to look at the tape."

Up Next:

Until mid-January, the team is done with tournament competition. ASU opens the regular season at the Michigan Invitational in Ann Arbor, Michigan (Jan. 14-16), before hosting NAU on January 20.

"Hopefully the kids will feel pretty good about how we ended and get some spurt on to work over the break," McInerney said.

During the offseason, the coaching staff will spend a total of six hours working with the team at the Whiteman Tennis Center.

“We’ve got six weeks off between now and January, which is always tricky for the players and the coaches.

“With the way the NCAA rules read, from the week before Thanksgiving, we can’t hit with them until they come back, it’s going to be important for them to work at home, build on this and come back better," McInerney said.


Reach the reporter at jpjacqu1@asu.edu or follow @joejacquezaz on Twitter.

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