The regular season for the ASU women’s tennis team comes to a close in Tucson against UA Saturday.
The No. 27 Sun Devils will aim to rebound against the rival after dropping two duals last weekend in Los Angeles.
The Sun Devils (12-5, 4-3 Pac-10) haven’t lost to the Wildcats since the 2003-04 season.
“There is no questionsthere is a rivalry with UA,” ASU coach Sheila McInerney said. “You want to go down there, get the win and come home.”
The No. 55 Wildcats (12-8, 1-6 Pac-10) have been ranked throughout the season and boast two ranked individuals, No. 107 sophomore Natasha Marks and No. 124 sophomore Sarah Landsman.
Marks defeated ASU junior Micaela Hein in three sets at the ITA Regional Championships earlier this season.
“Their top two are very strong, and you just have to go out individually and just battle,” McInerney said.
The Sun Devils dropped from No. 21 to No. 27 in the rankings after two close losses to No. 7 UCLA and No. 16 USC. ASU remained the fifth-ranked team in the Pac-10, behind UCLA, No. 10 Stanford, No. 12 California and USC. Washington is one spot behind the Sun Devils at No. 28.
After upsetting the No. 5-ranked player in the country, No. 76 Hein joined No. 70 ASU junior Kelcy McKenna in the national rankings.
The two also have paired up for doubles play, where they were All-Americans last season.
The Wildcats also lost both of their matches in Los Angeles last weekend, falling 7-0 to both USC and UCLA.
This will be the last dual of the season before the Sun Devils prepare for the Pac-10 Championships starting April 22.
“You try not to overblow one match, but needless to say they’re all really important,” McInerney said. “Particularly, since it’s only one match, you have to go down there, be ready and play hard.”
The fact that it is the only match of the weekend and that it is the last match of the season adds more emphasis to it, McInerney said.
ASU sophomore Michelle Brycki has the chance to end her regular season dual record without a loss Saturday. She is currently 13-0 and has not lost a match since Nov. 7 at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational.
ASU senior Nadia Abdala could return to the lineup after sitting out the dual against UCLA with a sore shoulder. If she plays, it would be the last dual match of her career.
Reach the reporter at nathan.meacham@asu.edu
