The No. 23 ASU tennis team (12-7, 3-4) lost its fourth straight match today in a 5-2 loss to the No. 1 USC Trojans.
“I thought it certainly was another tough one,” head coach Sheila McInerney said. “USC is tough, there’s a reason they’re No. 1; they’re really deep.
“It definitely could’ve gone either way, but I thought our kids battled and played well in the doubles.”
For McInereny, it was her annual match against her alma mater as well as a chance to compete in a coaching duel against some familiar faces, including her former college doubles partner, USC volunteer assistant coach Barbara Hallquist DeGroot.
“I've known them for years," she said. It's fun. It’s more fun when you win, nonetheless."
In the team’s match against the No. 4 UCLA Bruins on Friday, ASU held the lead on multiple courts during the doubles session, but were unable to finish off their opponent.
Saturday’s doubles half proved to be different, as the Sun Devils were able to take advantage of a few early leads en route to winning two of the three doubles matches and claim the doubles point.
The Trojans pitted their No. 15-ranked doubles pair of junior Giuliana Olmos and senior Zoë Scandalis against the Sun Devils’ No. 77-ranked couple of senior Joanna Smith and sophomore Kassidy Jump in the No. 2 match. Smith and Jump would prevail, winning 8-6.
The Sun Devils earned their second doubles win as juniors Desirae Krawczyk and Stephanie Vlad (the No. 36-ranked doubles pair in the country) defeated senior Sabrina Santamaria and sophomore Zoë Katz (the No. 19-ranked doubles pair), 8-5.
However, the early advantage wasn’t enough for the Sun Devils, as they faltered against one of the most talented units in the country.
The Trojans featured a lineup composed solely of players ranked within the top-75 singles players in the nation. Five of them went on to win today.
For ASU, Krawczyk followed her win over the top-rated player in the nation with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Santamaria. The win is Krawczyk’s second win over a top-20 opponent in the last 24 hours.
“I feel great," she said. "I think I've played a lot better this whole week."
Still, Krawczyk as well as the rest of the team appeared to be concerned over the final result as opposed to individual results.
The Sun Devils will hope to stifle their four-game losing streak next week when they go on the road to take on the Oregon Ducks on Friday at 1:30 p.m. in Eugene, Oregon. The match will be available for view via live stream.
A match against Washington in Seattle will follow that match, and will take place at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
Saturday's results:
Doubles
1. Krawczyk/Vlad (ASU) def. Santamaria/Katz (USC), 8-5
2. Jump/Smith (ASU) def. Olmos/Scandalis (USC), 8-6
3. Smith/Westby (USC) def. Panoho/Osborne (ASU), 8-6
Singles
1. Desirae Krawczyk (ASU) def. Sabrina Santamaria (USC), 6-3, 6-4
2. Giuliana Olmos (USC) def. Stephanie Vlad (ASU), 6-2, 7-6
3. Zoë Scandalis (USC) def. Kassidy Jump (ASU), 6-1, 6-4
4. Madison Westby (USC) def. Joanna Smith (ASU), 6-4, 7-6 (10-6)
5. Gabby Smith (USC) def. Leighann Sahagun (ASU), 6-0, 8-6
6. Meredith Xepoleas (USC) def. Ebony Panoho (ASU), 6-7, 6-2, 10-2
Reach the reporter at kajone31@asu.edu or follow @kaelenjones on Twitter.
Like State Press Sports on Facebook or follow @statepresssport on Twitter.
