Competition for the ASU women's tennis team heats up as the Sun Devils start Pac-10 play against Washington State on Friday and Oregon on Saturday in Tempe.
The No. 35 Sun Devils (6-2) hope to have two of their players, who missed recent matches, healthy by the weekend.
ASU senior Kelcy McKenna had to sit out Sunday’s match against Texas for health reasons, while junior Michelle Brycki missed both matches against the South Florida and UT due to a swollen knee.
There is still a chance both women won’t be ready to play by this weekend, ASU coach Sheila McInerney said.
"It's day to day with Michelle and Kelcy," McInerney said.
McInerney has focused on keeping her remaining players healthy this week with lighter practices.
“At this point it’s not about playing so much,” McInerney said. “It’s about making sure the kids get rest and stay hydrated.”
ASU senior Micaela Hein knows that WSU and UO will bring tough competition.
"I really believe the Pac-10 is the strongest conference in the U.S. for tennis," Hein said. "You have Stanford who is the [No. 2] team in the country this year. To be in the midst of these great teams, your competition is really hard."
For Hein, Pac-10 competition doesn't add any extra pressure.
"It's not necessarily pressure," Hein said. "It's more of excitement."
And McInerney feels the same way.
"We don’t really distinguish much of a difference," McInerney said. "Obviously you want to do well in your conference, to win the conference, but we don’t approach any of these matches differently. The kids don’t feel more pressure."
The biggest difference between Pac-10 teams and teams in other conferences is that the Sun Devils have likely played the Pac-10 teams more often, McInerney said.
"You’re more familiar with your opponents a lot of the time," McInerney said. "We played Washington State and Oregon last year, and a lot of their kids are the same."
Both WSU and UO have already played Pac-10 matches this year, but neither has won any.
Washington State (8-5, 0-2 Pac-10) was recently swept 7-0 by both California and Stanford.
Junior Elisabeth Fournier from Canada, who plays in the No. 1 position, and sophomore Liudmila Vasilieva from Russia, who plays in the No. 2 position, are the leaders for the Cougars.
In fact, WSU only has two American born players on the roster.
With what is a general theme when teams face Cal and Stanford, UO was also swept, 7-0, by both teams this year.
The Ducks (6-4, 0-2 Pac-10) features senior Pavlina Smatova from the Czech Republic in the No. 1 position and Patricia Skowronski from Germany in the No. 2 position.
Smatova is currently ranked No. 100 in the U.S.
Reach the reporter at nicole.klauss@asu.edu
