Sophomore Desirae Krawczyk hits the ball across the court to a Michigan tennis player during the Thunderbird Invitational in Tempe. Krawczyk lost to Michigan sophomore Amy Zhu in a singles match. (Photo by Diana Lustig)Though nobody from the ASU women’s tennis team won the Thunderbird Invitational, for the second straight year, a Sun Devil finished in the top-three.
Last year, then freshman Desirae Krawczyk finished second. This year, sophomore Stephanie Vlad earned third place. Vlad said the home-court advantage helps at the Thunderbird Invitational.
“They put us on the first court, and that helps,” Vlad said. “I love playing in front of a crowd. It is really beneficial.”
Vlad’s consolation match vs. Cal sophomore Klara Fabikova began the third day of the Thunderbird Invitational. Fabikova, ranked No. 23, lost in straight sets to Vlad, who said playing such high competition gets her fired up.
“I like stepping up, and I knew I needed to step up in order to beat (Fabikova),” Vlad said. “I knew she was going to give me a run for my money.”
Vlad set the tone for ASU Sunday. After her win, junior Leighann Sahagun beat Michigan junior Kristen Dodge to win the first draw consolation bracket.
Krawczyk, however, didn’t see the same success she saw last year. After retiring early due to a knee injury on day one, Krawczyk went 1-1 in singles on Saturday and Sunday, closing the weekend with a back-and-forth loss to Michigan sophomore Amy Zhu in three sets.
ASU’s two freshmen, Gussie O’Sullivan and Kassidy Jump, both won their matches to close the tournament after being eliminated in the first round Friday.
Junior Joanna Smith was the only other Sun Devil to lose in singles Sunday. She dropped straight sets to Kansas State freshman Iva Bago.
Coach Sheila McInerney said she was happy with the competitive matches her team played Sunday.
“We did actually have a pretty good day,” McInerney said. “Gussie toughed out a good one … Desirae had a tough one … but didn’t capitalize … same with Jo.”
Singles wasn’t the only facet the Sun Devils thrived in Sunday. They also won two of their three doubles matches to finish the weekend with a 5-4 record in doubles.
ASU’s pairing of Krawczyk and sophomore Ebony Panoho won its second match of the weekend, after knocking off Cal’s Fabikova and Lynn Chi Saturday.
Krawczyk said Panoho “completes” her in doubles.
“We have good chemistry,” Krawczyk said. “She has a big serve … I can set her up because she’s good at the net … I like playing with her a lot.”
Smith and O’Sullivan struggled against Kansas State’s Petra Niedermayerova and Palma Juhasz, losing 8-2, but Sahagun and Jump defeated Cal’s Fabikova and Alice Duranteau to give ASU a winning record on the day and for the tournament.
The championship match featured two Cal freshmen, Denise Starr and Maegan Manasse. Starr, who eliminated Vlad in the semifinals, beat her teammate convincingly, 6-1, 6-2.
As Starr was leaving, McInerney said she hopes to see her back here again, but called it unlikely because she’ll likely be in the top-10 nationally after her performance this weekend.
Doubles
Niedermayerova/Juhasz (KSU) def. Smith/O’Sullivan (ASU) 8-2
Krawczyk/Panoho (ASU) def. Ucros/Zhu (Michigan) 8-6
Sahagun/Jump (ASU) def. Fabikova/Duranteau (Cal)
Singles
Vlad (ASU) def. No. 23 Fabikova (Cal) 6-1, 6-3
Sahagun (ASU) def. Dodge (Michigan) 6-3, 6-2
O’Sullivan (ASU) def. Ucros (Michigan) 6-4, 7-5 (10-7)
Zhu (Michigan) def. No. 83 Krawczyk (ASU) 1-6, 6-1, 6-4
Jump (ASU) def. Cirnov (KSU) 6-1, 1-6, 6-2
Bago (KSU) def. Smith (ASU) 6-3, 6-4
Reach the reporter at ewebeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @EWeebs
