The ASU women’s tennis team transfers back to tournament mode for the Pac-10 Championships beginning Thursday.
Seven different Sun Devils will compete in singles, doubles or both against the Pac-10’s best tennis players.
The tournament will determine the Pac-10 singles and doubles champions.
ASU juniors Micaela Hein and Kelcy McKenna and sophomore Michelle Brycki will all be competing in the main Pac-10 singles bracket, while junior Ashlee Brown, sophomore Sianna Simmons and freshman Hannah James start off in the invitational bracket.
James was given the No. 2 seed, and both her and Simmons have received a first-round bye.
The singles draw consists of 32 players, three from each school, along with five additional players selected by a committee of coaches.
Brycki earned herself a spot in the main bracket by finishing the season 14-0 in dual play.
She is the only player to finish the season undefeated in dual play throughout coach Sheila McInerney’s 26 years at ASU.
The first round pairs her up with No. 60 Washington State freshman Liudmila Vasilieva, who played in the No. 1 spot for the Cougars this season.
Hein, who has played in the No. 1 spot over the last several matches, will have to go through the nation’s No. 2 player in California sophomore Jana Juricova to reach the semifinals.
“I feel like everyone is playing really well and I think we have really good chemistry this year,” Hein said.
She lost to Juricova 6-3, 6-4 on March 27 during ASU’s victory over the Golden Bears.
The Sun Devils have only one doubles team in the main bracket, but that pair contains two All-Americans in McKenna and Hein, who were ranked No. 12 in doubles to start the season.
“It would be an awesome achievement to win Pac-10s,” McKenna said.
Doubles includes 16 total duos, one from each of the nine schools and seven by selection.
ASU senior Nadia Abdala will team up with Brycki for the No. 1 seed in the invitational bracket, which also has the ASU tandem of Brown and Simmons along with James paired up with Stanford sophomore Logan Hansen.
Abdala paired up with her sister, Laila, last season and finished second overall.
The senior has been dealing with a shoulder injury as of late and will only participate in doubles competition.
Last weekend’s victory over UA moved ASU up four spots in the rankings.
The No. 23 Sun Devils finished the season with a 13-5 record, including five Pac-10 wins.
Hein moved up in the individual rankings after her win in Tucson last weekend and now sits at No. 68, followed by McKenna at No. 70.
The tournament lasts through April 25, after which the Sun Devils will wait to see where they will play for the NCAA Regionals. The team hopes to be a Regional host this season.
Reach the reporter at nathan.meacham@asu.edu
