The Sunday sun beat down on the No. 19 Sun Devils as they charged to a 4–3 victory over No. 35 University of San Diego in Tempe.
“We knew it would be a tough day,” coach Sheila McInerney said. “I’m really proud of how the kids competed.”
The match got off to a slow start with ASU losing the doubles point.
Sophomore Jacqueline Cako and junior Nicole Smith won their match against junior Stephanie Hoffpauir and sophomore Idil Haciraifoglu 8–1.
The pairs of senior Michelle Brycki and freshman Joanna Smith and senior Sianna Simmons and freshman Leighann Sahagun both lost their matches 8–5.
“It was disappointing losing the doubles point, but the girls kept battling,” McInerney said.
On the singles court, battle was the perfect word for the team’s performance.
Cako dropped her first set against Hoffpauir 4–6.
“After that first set, I decided I didn’t want to lose any more sets,” Cako said. “I got angry because I was staying back and not attacking enough.”
Cako dominated the next two sets 6–0, 6–0 and won the match.
“I wanted to get some revenge,” Cako said. “I didn’t give her any easy points.”
McInerney said the key to Cako’s win was settling into a rhythm despite a rough first set.
Brycki lost her first set 3–6 to junior Laura Claus, but didn’t lose her composure.
In what turned into a brutal and exhausting three-set match, Brycki turned the match around and won the next two sets 6–4 and 7–6 (1).
“I give Michelle a lot of credit,” McInerney said. “She competed fiercely and took pressure off her teammates.”
Simmons and Joanna Smith both added to the Sun Devils’ victory.
Simmons won her match 6–4, 6–4 against sophomore Anne Depenau and Smith beat junior Maja Sujica 6–1, 7–6 (5).
“Sianna played great,” McInerney said. “I was really happy with her performance and she beat a pretty darn good player.”
Junior Hannah James dropped her match 6–3, 6–2 to senior Juliette Coupez.
Junior Nicole Smith was the last Sun Devil on the courts and lost 6–2, 6–4, 7–5 to senior Marite Ragada.
“Nicole was matched tough and hasn’t regularly played singles in over a year,” McInerney said. “She was physically tired out there, but the more she plays, the better she’ll get.”
Since the upcoming match against Texas has been cancelled, the team will take a few days off before returning to practice.
“After winning against a good team, we know what we have to do to get better,” McInerney said. “I’m proud of the way the team played and competed today.”
Reach the reporter at dkmcinty@asu.edu
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