Freshman Stephanie Vlad returns a ball during the Sun Devils' meet vs. St. Mary's on March 2. Vlad may return to play in ASU's final home meet against rival UA after missing the last six meets due to a knee injury. (Photo by Murphy Bannerman)There is no trophy at stake for this Territorial Cup matchup in tennis.
Sparky won’t walk into the middle of Whiteman Tennis Center and drive his pitchfork into the court.
For the seniors on ASU’s tennis team, there’s something more important on the line: the pride of beating UA on senior day, the last match they will play at ASU.
“I think this is the match I want to win the most out of the semester,” senior Hannah James said. ”I’ve been building up for this for five, six weeks now, and we’ve been focusing on the California schools, but this is the one, especially on senior day.”
A win on Saturday would not only be a great way to cap off No. 22 ASU’s (15-5, 5-4 Pac-12) schedule, but also give the seniors a chance to avenge last year’s 0-7 drubbing in Tucson.
“After last year we’re definitely all ready to step up and take them down,” senior Jacqueline Cako said.“To have them at home is always a huge advantage.”
Like this year, injuries hampered the Sun Devils in last season's matchup against the Wildcats (9-13, 1-8 Pac-12). Cako was not fully healthy and lost her match last year to UA junior Lacey Smyth 6-2, 6-3.
“I technically, probably shouldn’t have been playing that match last year,” she said. “I literally started practicing the day before we went to the U of A.”
Injuries have plagued ASU again this year. Freshman Desirae Krawczyk suffered a foot injury that sidelined her against No. 9 UCLA, and fellow freshman Stephanie Vlad hasn’t played since the team’s March 22 tilt with Oregon.
At Monday's practice, Vlad was practicing without a knee brace. Head coach Sheila McInerney said that she was optimistic about having Vlad on Saturday after she played against Stanford last week.
With the lineup likely back to full strength, James feels the Sun Devils can return to their form that saw them win 12 straight matches.
On the other side, the Wildcats haven’t been able to put together a winning streak of more than two matches all year. UA has dropped its last five straight matches and eight of its last nine.
“With the record that we have, we undoubtedly deserve to win this match on Saturday,” James said. “I think, on paper, we should win.”
Whiteman Tennis Center sits in the shadow of nearby Sun Devil Stadium, where the Wildcats and Sun Devils have battled on the gridiron for decades.
While tennis is a quieter sport than football, the nature of the rivalry is quintessentially the same.
“I think at heart, you never want to lose to the Cats,” James said. “Everyone gets it ingrained in you when you come to college: 'That’s our rival. You have to beat them.'”
Even after UA, ASU still has matches left to play. There’s still the Pac-12 tournament in Ojai, Calif., as well as a potential ticket to the NCAA tournament.
Regardless, a final win at home means everything to Cako.
“We want to go out on a good note,” she said. “It’s our last match, and it’s the last match we’ll ever play here, so we definitely want to go out with a win.”
Reach the reporter at ejsmith7@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @EricSmith_SP
