The 2016-17 season for ASU women's tennis ended abruptly Friday morning at the hands of Florida State.
The No. 37 Seminoles (16-11, 6-5 ACC) upset the No. 26 Sun Devils (14-7, 7-3 Pac-12) in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, 4-2 at Yarbrough Tennis Center on the campus of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama.
"Congratulations to Florida State on a well played match, we knew they would be a tough out and they certainly were," head coach Sheila McInerneysaid. "Best of luck to them in the second round. We had our chances today but just did not play our best when it counted the most. We lost all four tiebreakers that we played which really hindered our momentum. If we had won one or two of them it may have been a different outcome. Kudos to FSU for coming through when they needed to."
Despite appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the 30th straight year, 2003 was the last time McInerney's team advanced farther than the second round.
The @sundeviltennis ladies...30 straight years making the team NCAA's. #ForksUp https://t.co/he5WBPOwyw
— USTA Soυтнweѕт (@USTASouthwest) May 10, 2017
In a win-or-go-home match, the doubles point is often crucial. Florida State took an early 1-0 lead with wins on court one and two. Senior Kassidy Jump and sophomore Sammi Hampton controlled their match on court three, 6-2. But, FSU defeated junior Kelley Anderson and freshman Savannah Slaysman on court two, 6-4 and won a hard fought match against Senior Alex Osborne and junior Nicole Fossa-Huergo on court one, 7-6.
Despite losing the doubles point, ASU started singles play with back-to-back victories and jumped out in front, 2-1. Anderson won the first match on court three 6-4, 6-2. Slaysman followed her doubles partner's performance with an impressive victory of her own on court five. Slaysman captured the first set 6-2 and won a second set tiebreak, 7-6(3) and the match.
With ASU needing just two more wins to advance to the second round, Jump and Hampton were locked in tight matches on court one and two respectively. But, Hampton lost 6-3, 7-5 on court two and in a blink of an eye the match was tied up at two points apiece. Jump fought but lost the first set, 6-2 and a second set tiebreak, 7-6 (6). The Noles had a 3-2 lead with matches on court four and six still going.
Senior Gussie O'Sullivan dropped the first set in a tiebreak and unfortunately for ASU, the Australian could not complete the comeback. The Noles took the individual match in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4 on court six and the overall match, 4-2.
One Note:
The Pac-12 announced the conference's First and Second Team's Friday. Jump was named to the first team and Hampton was an honorable mention. Jump finished the regular season ranked No. 50 in singles and Hampton finished No. 108.
Up Next:
Jump qualified for the NCAA singles tournament which begins May 24.
Reach the reporter at jpjacqu1@asu.edu or follow @joejacquezaz on Twitter.
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