The ASU women’s tennis team faces its biggest match of the season on Friday as it takes on undefeated Stanford, the No. 1 team in the nation.
No. 13 ASU (13-3, 3-0 Pac-10) has beat Stanford one time in the 27 years that Sheila McInerney has been the coach.
“The only time we’ve beat them since I’ve been here was in 2008,” McInerney said. “The good thing is this group has beat them. The seniors were all on the team that beat Stanford.”
ASU defeated Stanford on March 28, 2008. It was a close win, with ASU taking a 4-3 victory at home.
“It was a new experience to be able to play them on our home courts,” senior Kelcy McKenna said. “We didn’t understand how big of a deal it was to beat them at the time, but it was a thrilling experience for our team.”
As freshmen, McKenna and senior Micaela Hein played together in doubles in the No. 3 position and took an 8-1 victory. McKenna and Hein also won both of their singles matches in the 2008 Stanford defeat.
Now seniors, McKenna and Hein will play doubles in the No. 1 position.
An upset against Stanford on its home court would be a huge achievement in the world of college tennis.
Stanford (17-0, 4-0 Pac-10) is the defending 2010 NCAA champion and has won 174 straight home matches (142 regular season, 32 NCAA Tournament) over the last 12 seasons.
Stanford hasn’t lost a home match since Feb. 27, 1999 when Cal took a 5-4 victory.
Stanford features many ranked players. Senior Hilary Barte is ranked No. 4, according to the International Tennis Association. Freshman Nicole Gibbs is ranked No. 12, freshman Kristie Ahn is ranked No. 17, sophomore Mallory Burdette is No. 22 and sophomore Stacey Tan is No. 55.
Two of Stanford’s doubles teams are also ranked. The tandem of Barte and Burdette is No. 2, while the duo of Ahn and Gibbs is No. 30.
ASU freshman Jacqueline Cako moved up in the rankings to No. 13, while McKenna fell to No. 19. The tandem of Hein and McKenna is No. 18 in doubles.
McInerney is expecting Stanford to be the biggest challenge of the season.
“Playing good teams on the road is always a tough task,” McInerney said. “There is a reason both teams are ranked as high as they are, but everybody is excited to play a team loaded with good players.”
The Sun Devils have a second match on Saturday against No. 10 California. ASU took a 4-3 victory over Cal on March 12, and will look to repeat that performance.
Reach the reporter at nicole.klauss@asu.edu
