The quarterfinals of the Pac-10 Championships set up a wall for the No. 23 ASU women’s tennis team.
Three Sun Devils made it to the quarterfinals of their singles brackets and one doubles tandem made it to the semifinals, but no ASU players made it farther than that.
ASU freshman Hannah James was the biggest surprise in a quarterfinal run that included a victory over No. 4-seed USC sophomore Alison Ramos (7-6(5), 6-4). Ramos was the highest seed to fall in the tournament.
One of the other tournament upsets came from another Sun Devil, as junior Micaela Hein knocked off No. 7-seed Stanford freshman Mallory Burdette.
Burdette was ranked No. 32 heading into the tournament, while Hein was ranked No. 68.
“[It was a] really good tournament for Micaela and Hannah,” ASU coach Sheila McInerney said.
But the tournament ended in the quarterfinals for those two Sun Devils.
James fell in the next round to the No. 6 seed, California junior Mari Andersson, 6-1, 6-3 and Hein had to withdraw because of injury.
The match with Andersson was much closer than the score, and pulling Hein from the tournament was just a precaution with a sore foot, especially after playing three matches on Thursday, McInerney said.
“Her foot was bothering her a little bit, and we just wanted to make sure,” McInerney said. “We were just a little bit too nervous that her foot might not have made it. With the NCAAs coming up, we just decided not to play her on Friday.”
The third Sun Devil to make it to the quarterfinals of singles play was sophomore Sianna Simmons in the invitational bracket.
She fell in the next round with one of the longest matches of the tournament against No. 3-seed California freshman Taylor Davis (5-7, 6-4, 7-6, 4-0).
Three other Sun Devils competed in singles, but only junior Ashlee Brown was able to make it out of the first round.
Both of ASU’s doubles tandems lost in close 9-7 matches, but Brown and Simmons paired up in the invitational bracket and made it to the semifinals before falling 8-6 to the UCLA tandem of freshman Sephanie Hoffpauir and sophomore Carling Seguso.
“All in all, it was a good trip,” McInerney said. “We’re hoping Micaela’s win over Mallory Burdette might vault her into the NCAA individuals.”
ASU now has to wait to receive its seeding in the NCAA tournament that starts on May 14.
Reach the reporter at nathan.meacham@asu.edu
