The senior season can be difficult to get through for some athletes. After three years of the same coaches and the same routine it is easy to see why some athletes struggle with the pressure of being expected to have a great senior year.
The 2011 seniors on the ASU women’s tennis team haven’t stopped pushing to do better and had their best season in their careers this year. Ashlee Brown, Micaela Hein and Kelcy McKenna pushed through the senioritis that strikes many athletes and made their last season one worth remembering.
“I think it’s not easy to have a really good senior year,” ASU coach Sheila McInerney said. “When the kids do have a great senior year, it’s fantastic, and this group has. They’re pretty darn good and they have great energy.”
The No. 12 Sun Devils ended their regular season with a 14-6, 4-3 Pac-10 record.
“All of them are playing the best they’ve played since they’ve been here,” McInerney said.
No. 16 McKenna has had an outstanding senior year with two tournament titles and one major upset.
McKenna’s matchup against No.1 senior Maria Sanchez on April 8 went to three sets, with McKenna winning 6-4, 1-6, 6-4. Her victory that day helped the Sun Devils take a huge win over USC.
McKenna also excelled in the fall semester with two tournament victories. She took home the ITA Gold Singles Championship title at the Cal Nike Invitational and the singles title at the 2010 ASU Thunderbird Invitational, the first time a Sun Devil earned the honor.
“From a team results standpoint I would say this has been the best season,” McKenna said. “This year we’ve had some of our biggest wins and it’s been a great experience.”
McKenna had a total of 27 wins against only 7 losses in singles play this season. In doubles she went 19-7.
The tandem of McKenna and Hein is ranked No. 24 in the country, according to the International Tennis Association.
Individually, No. 68 Hein had several big wins this season. In the final two matches of the season Hein took singles victories over No. 44 UCLA senior Noelle Hickey and USC junior Alison Ramos.
Hein has gone 24-12 overall this season in singles and 20-10 in doubles.
“This semester has been awesome because the team season brings the best out of me,” Hein said. “I think you’re playing for something bigger than yourself, so it brings that competitiveness out of you.”
Brown was injured much of her junior year, but was able to get herself into the lineup for the entire 2011 season.
Brown went 16-17 in singles, but her real contribution to the team came in doubles play, where she went 22-8 this year. Brown is currently ranked No. 73 in doubles while paired up with junior Sianna Simmons.
This group of seniors has beaten the toughest teams in the Pac-10, McInerney said. In the 27 years that she has been coaching the Sun Devils, the only time ASU has ever beaten Stanford was in 2008, when the seniors were just freshmen.
McKenna and Hein both took singles victories, in the No. 2 and No. 4 positions, which aided in the historic win, and Brown fought hard, but fell in the No. 6 position.
“This is the first group that beat Stanford since I’ve been here,” McInerney said. “They beat USC twice this year. They’ve had great careers, and their best year has been their senior year.”
ASU defeated USC 4-3 on March 16 and crushed USC 6-1 on April 8. Both times the Trojans were ranked in the top-15. The Sun Devils also upset Cal this season with a close 4-3 victory.
But then there are other concerns that seniors must face.
All three will graduate in May and are looking to find jobs in the area.
“I want to stay here for a year,” Brown, a native of Australia, said. “I’m going to miss the environment and the routine of training, but I’m focused on getting a job.”
Their ASU careers aren’t quite over yet. With the Pac-10 Championships and the NCAA Championships right around the corner, the seniors have a few final opportunities to contribute to the Sun Devil tennis program.
The Pac-10 Championships start on April 28, and the NCAA Regionals start on May 13.
Reach the reporter at nicole.klauss@asu.edu
