ASU women's tennis had a number of opportunities earlier this season to close out match wins against elite competition.
Head coach Sheila McInerney has spoken on numerous occasions about the importance of closing matches.
ASU got the message, as the No. 36 Sun Devils (12-5, 5-2) earned an upset of No. 31 Washington, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon in Seattle, Washington. McInerney’s team swept the final road trip of the season and earned their fifth-straight match win — they defeated Washington State on Friday.
"This match was huge for us to win, even if it was at home, but the fact it was away made it bigger," senior Kassidy Jump said. "Washington is a good team and has a good season, and I think the team really needed this win to boost confidence even more. I think people on the team are becoming more and more confident which has
This win should move ASU up the International Tennis Association team rankings.
As has been the custom this season, the Sun Devils quickly clinched the doubles point. Matches on court three and court two finished almost simultaneously. Jump and sophomore Sammi Hampton earned their eighth-straight match win, defeating the Huskies’ freshman pairing of Katarina Kopcalic and Lana Slavica, 6-1. A few minutes later, junior Kelley Anderson and freshman Savannah Slaysman, ranked No. 72, clinched the point and defeated sophomores Stacy Fung and Kenadi Hance, 6-2.
POINT! @TheSunDevils clinch the doubles point just like that with Jump/Hampton winning 6-1 followed minutes by Anderson/Slaysman, 6-2! pic.twitter.com/xfLUkaCRTb
— Sun Devil Tennis (@sundeviltennis) April 9, 2017
ASU took a 1-0 lead into singles against the Huskies, who had won four of their past six matches.
Anderson, ranked No. 88, gave her team a 2-0 lead with a straight sets win over Nour Abbes, 6-3, 6-3. Slaysman put the Sun Devils ahead 3-0 with a straight sets triumph of her own, 6-4, 6-2 over junior Alexis Prokopuik.
Fung, ranked No. 50, got Washington on the scoreboard with a 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 61 Jump on court one. With the score 3-1, ASU needed one more singles win to clinch the match. Junior Nicole Fossa-Huergo took on that role, winning her second-straight sets match, 7-5, 6-3, over Nance on court four.
The remaining two matches were played out, with the Huskies winning on courts two and six.
The win put ASU in a great position with the Pac-12 Championships and the NCAA Tournament right around the corner. The Sun Devils will end the 2017 regular season against No. 40 USC and No. 20 UCLA next Friday and Saturday, before closing out the season with rival Arizona on April 22.
Up Next:
The Sun Devils will return home and welcome the Trojans next Friday. First serve is set for 1:30 p.m. MST. Fans can watch the match live online on Pac-12 Digital.
Reach the reporter at jpjacqu1@asu.edu or follow @joejacquezaz on Twitter.
Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow @statepresssport on Twitter.
