For ASU's women's tennis team, when the schedule gets going, it really gets going.
After a three-day tournament ends Sunday, the team's top player will head off for a tournament Tuesday while her teammates get back to work at practice on the court and in the weight room.
And it's getting in the necessary work that is the focus for ASU coach Sheila McInerney.
This weekend, each of the team's eight players got in at least four singles and three doubles matches, McInerney said.
And the freshmen saw their first action.
"They were a little nervous, but they're spunky," McInerney said. "They've got an attitude of 'hey, we're just as good as anybody'."
The team's players branched out into different matches in different levels of the tournament, and McInerney said no one on the team was either exceptional or poor.
"Everyone was kind of in the middle," she said. "No one made me say 'wow,' but it's still early."
The Sun Devils did excel in doubles, however, perhaps beyond expectations.
McInerney noted the good play of senior Jessica Leitch and freshman Micaela Hein, who defeated a pair of Fresno State players, 8-6, in the gold doubles consolation finals.
Two other ASU doubles teams advanced deep into the competition, but each lost.
Sophomore Nadia Abdala and freshman Kelcy McKenna lost 8-5 in the blue doubles finals, while junior Laila Abdala and freshman Lauren Megale were also defeated 9-7 in the gold doubles finals.
In singles play, ASU wasn't nearly as prolific.
Hein and sophomore Amanda Martin, though, did win consolation finals matches.
Nadia Abdala, ASU's No. 1 player, lost to Northwestern's Maria Mosolova, 7-6, 1-6, 1-6, in the gold singles round of 16.
McInerney said Mosolova, a freshman from Moscow, Russia, should finish the season among the country's top 20 players.
Of all the competing teams, McInerney said California, Northwestern and Fresno State were the best, and it was good for a young ASU squad to witness the best firsthand.
"I think they realize [now], that you have to come to play, because everybody has good players," McInerney said. "It's a good indoctrination for the freshmen."
While most of the team got a day off Monday, sophomore Nadia Abdala was traveling to Los Angeles to participate in the All-American Championships.
ASU's top player will start on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m., playing singles matches against stiff competition.
"It's a really strong tournament, with the best players," McInerney said. "But I think Nadia is ready."
Nadia gained access to the tournament because of her preseason national ranking, rated 24th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association [ITA], while those unranked must compete in qualifying tournaments beforehand.
McInerney said she decided not to send her three freshmen because the tournament is single elimination, therefore not offering the guarantee of court time.
Abdala's teammates will head back to practice Tuesday, preparing for the ITA's Regional Championships, Oct. 18 in San Diego, Calif.
With practices, matches, and tournaments, the team continues its busy schedule.
"It's keeping them out of trouble," McInerney said. "The busier you are, the better."
Reach the reporter at: andrew.pentis@asu.edu.
