The ASU women’s tennis team prepares to finish the fall tennis season this weekend at the 17th Annual Arizona State Thunderbird Invitational.
Last year senior Kelcy McKenna defeated Northwestern’s sophomore Belinda Niu 7-5, 6-2 to win the tournament.
This year the team looks to garner success as they head into a break before spring tournaments.
“The challenge is to translate what we do in practice into the tournament,” coach Sheila McInerney said.
Since faltering at the ITA Regional tournament in October, the team has been practicing vigorously to fix their flaws.
“The practices have been going well,” McInerney said. “We’re working on specific things.”
At least once during the week the coaches create individualized practices, McInerney said. This allows players to fine-tune their skills and optimize performance.
“The fall is definitely pre-season,” she said. “We don’t want to overreact after a tournament that wasn’t great.”
After the summer off, the fall tournaments are ways to get acclimated to playing again and a new team.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” McInerney said. “You don’t want to be overly stressed but you also don’t want to stink up the place.”
The Thunderbird Invitational is a tournament with a strong and even playing field, and an opportunity to earn many matches, according to McInerney.
“We’re playing at home so we want to do well,” McInerney said.
With about half of the players, none from ASU, in the tournament nationally ranked, success will come after hard work.
Players will travel from around the nation to play at the Whiteman Tennis Center starting at 8:30 a.m. Friday.
In addition to returning universities such as SDSU and Ohio State, players from Kansas, Utah and NAU will join the tournament.
ASU won’t be at full strength. Sophomore Jacqueline Cako has used her maximum fall competition dates and will not play this weekend, while junior Hannah James will have to sit out due to a recent stress fracture.
For junior Nicole Smith and freshman Leighann Sahagun, both recovering from injuries, this will be their first tournament this season playing doubles and singles matches.
The Thunderbird Invitational allows doubles pairs to be switched daily so the coaches will be experimenting with different combinations.
Though the players ideally can perform well in doubles despite the pairing, “this is a chance for us to see who compliments each other,” McInerney said.
This year ASU doesn’t have any seeded players in the tournament, but that doesn’t mar their hopes for success.
“It’s a competitive field and a great way to gain experience,” McInerney said.
Historically, winners of this tournament continue on to great things.
Currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, senior Jana Juricova of California won it her freshman year.
Sun Devil spirits are high for the Thunderbird Invitational and they welcome the challenge of excellent visiting players.
The only thing that might blemish the outlook for this weekend is the weather forecast.
Friday looks to be windy, and Saturday and Sunday are supposed to have temperatures in the 60s.
“It’s been beautiful recently, so hopefully the weekend is too,” McInerney said. “Fingers crossed, you know.”
Reach the reporter at dkmcinty@asu.edu
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