Not even the sounds of a band butchering KISS songs for the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon could throw off the Sun Devils Sunday.
The ASU women’s tennis team (2-0) put together a much better performance against UC Davis (0-1), shutting out the Aggies 7-0.
“I thought we played a little better today than yesterday,” ASU coach Sheila McInerney said. “I think anytime, you’re going to play better the second time out.”
The Sun Devils won the doubles point of the match convincingly.
Seniors Nicole Smith and Jacqueline Cako won their match 8-3. Sophomore Joanna Smith and freshman Ebony Panoho captured their match 8-2. Sophomore Leighann Sahagun and freshman Desirae Krawczyk were winning 7-3 but did not finish.
The singles matches were much more convincing Sunday. All but one of the Sun Devils won their matches in straight sets.
Jacqueline Cako made her season debut after sitting out Sunday, winning her match 6-2, 6-2.
“I felt pretty good, it was a bit shaky at the start, I just missed a few shots, I was struggling to get a return in the beginning," Cako said. "I was a little bit lazy on some of my shots. … That kind of forced me to have a few more errors in there."
Cako’s match was also met with controversy involving the final point.
Her opponent, UC Davis junior Megan Heneghan, tried to say that the Cako’s serve landed out of bounds when it didn’t.
“I hit it absolutely perfectly and it was in the middle of the line, down the ‘T’ and she called it out,” Cako explained.
Cako said this first time didn’t really bother her, but what happened on her next serve did.
“I hit a nice slice serve out wide and it was inside the line and she called it out again," Cako said. "I don’t get mad very often, (but) two in a row to call out that were in? I just about lost it."
The umpire sided with Cako and awarded her the victory with a final ace.
Freshman Ebony Panoho bounced back in dominant form 6-1, 6-0, after losing a tough 5-7, 5-7 match Saturday.
“It was great, I can’t say much else,” Panoho said about her performance. “My serve improved as well as my forehand. I was using it a lot more today and moving a lot better.”
Also winning in dominant fashion was sophomore Leighann Sahagun, who won in straight sets 6-2, 6-0.
Freshman Desirae Krawczyk had another tough three-set battle Sunday, winning in a third-set tiebreak 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10-5).
“I thought Desirae (Krawczyk) sort of lost her way a little bit the first set, was a little too impatient, but came back and won the second set pretty convincingly and the (tie)breaker which was good,” McInerney said.
Krawczyk attributes the difficulty to not following her coaches’ gameplan.
“I feel like I make it too difficult for myself," Krawcyzk said. "I try to mix it up a lot but I know there’s only one way I should be playing. … I did make it a little tough on myself."
Freshman Stephanie Vlad had a tough match as well. After winning the first set 6-3 she fell behind 0-3 before rallying back to win the second set 7-5.
Things will not get any easier for ASU coming up as they travel to Florida on Wednesday for their next three matches: No. 9 Miami, Oklahoma and Hawai’i on Jan. 25 and 26.
Results
Singles
Jacqueline Cako def. Megan Heneghan: 6-2, 6-2
Desirae Krawczyk def. Lauren Curry: 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10-5)
Stephanie Vlad def. Layla Sanders: 6-3, 7-5
Leighann Sahagun def. Ellie Edles: 6-2, 6-0
Ebony Panoho def. Tiffany Pham 6-1, 6-0
Hannah James def. Melissa Kobayakawa: 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
Cako/Nicole Smith def. Heneghan Sanders: 8-3
Panoho/Joanna Smith def. Edles/Pham: 8-2
Sahagun/Krawczyk vs. Curry/Nicole Koehly: 7-3 (abandoned)