Junior Stephanie Vlad reaches for the backhand return against Penn on March 9, 2015, at the Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe. (J. Bauer-Leffler/The State Press)The No. 33 Sun Devils ended their seven-game home front with a 7-0 win over the Marquette Eagles Tuesday, improving their dual-match record to 8-2.
The team has now won six straight matches, building some great momentum entering Pac-12 conference play.
“I thought they gave us a pretty good battle,” head coach Sheila McInerney said. “I thought they came out and played very good in the singles and were really competitive. I think it’s good for us to have a tough competitive match before we head out on the road.”
The team once again performed well during the doubles session of the match, winning it in a very swift 22 minutes.
The team claimed the doubles point by way of two 6-0 sweeps.
The No. 3 pairing of junior Ebony Panoho and sophomore Alex Osborne defeated Marquette senior Vanessa Foltinger and freshman Paula Tormos 6-0, while senior Joanna Smith and sophomore Kassidy Jump defeated senior Ali Dawson and sophomore Diana Tokar 6-0.
The team once again outmatched its opponent during the singles matchups, although the scoreboard may suggest that the victory came about more easily than they actually did.
Today only one tiebreaker was needed throughout the course of the singles portion as the team went on to defeat its opponent in straight sets for the second time in two days.
“It’s really exciting,” Smith said. “Especially when you get to do it at home. Sweeping 7-0 is huge. It’s giving us a lot of confidence. I think everyone’s playing really well and I think we’re really looking forward to playing on the road.”
The Sun Devils now turn their attention to their first conference game of the dual-match season in a road match with Utah, followed by a match in Colorado to conclude their spring break road trip.
“I think all of us are feeling pretty well,” said Vlad. “I think this was a pretty long stretch for us having this many matches in the few days that we had them. We hadn’t have that happen yet this season, and I think now we’re looking forward to start Pac-12 play.”
The team will play Utah in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 13 at 12:30 p.m.
Today’s results:
Singles
1. Desirae Krawczyk (ASU) def. Ana Pimienta (MARQ), 6-1, 6-3
2. Stephanie Vlad (ASU) def. Erin Gebes (MARQ), 6-1, 6-4
3. Kassidy Jump (ASU) def. Ali Dawson (MARQ), 4-6, 6-4, 10-4
4. Joanna Smith (ASU) def. Diana Tokar (MARQ), 6-0, 6-4
5. Gussie O’Sullivan (ASU) def. Paula Tormos (MARQ), 6-0, 6-2
6. Ebony Panoho (ASU) def. Vanessa Foltinger (MARQ), 7-6, 6-3
Doubles
1. Krawczyk/Vlad (ASU) vs Pimienta/Gebes (MARQ), DNF (abandoned)
2. Jump/Smith (ASU) def. Dawson/Tokar (MARQ), 6-0
3. Panoho/Osborne (ASU) def. Tormos/Foltinger (MARQ), 6-0
Reach the reporter at kajone31@asu.edu or follow @kaelenjones on Twitter.
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