ASU tennis grabbed two wins on Saturday, extending its season-high win streak to seven games in a double-header at Whiteman Tennis Center.
The No. 19 Sun Devils started the day with a quick 4-0 win over in-state foe Northern Arizona before wrapping up the twin bill by sweeping Montana 7-0. The wins moved ASU to 14-4 overall and ended a stretch of three straight non-conference opponents.
"We just stayed within ourselves," senior Desirae Krawczyk said. "We're beating some tough competition right now by just being aggressive and playing simple tennis.
Although ASU would dominate for most of the match against NAU, it didn't start that way in doubles. Senior Ebony Panoho and junior Alexandra Osborne suffered a 6-1 loss on the first doubles court as play began. It was the first defeat for the 22nd ranked duo since a Feb. 28 loss at Ohio State.
"We just didn't come out with enough energy," Panoho said. "I felt like I let Alex (Osborne) down a little bit there."
The loss wouldn't end up costing ASU as Panoho's teammates picked up the slack. The Sun Devils got wins from their second and third pairings to secure the doubles point.
In singles play, ASU made quick work of the Lumberjacks with three wins in straight sets to take the team competition. Jump was first off on court number two with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over NAU's Blanka Szavay. Krawczyk would soon follow with 6-0, 6-2 win on court one before Stephanie Vlad won on the fourth singles court by the same score.
The remaining singles matches were abandoned as the team competition had already been decided. ASU was preparing for the second half of a double-header.
"We were pretty lucky to win that doubles point to be honest with you," said head coach Sheila McInerney. "But then the kids came out really well in the singles and got off the court early, which is always big in a double-header."
After roughly a two hour break between matches, ASU was back on the court to begin doubles play against Montana.
Panoho and Osborne would make up for their doubles loss earlier in the day with a dominating 6-0 win over Montana's top duo. Jump and freshman Sammi Hampton won by the same score on court three to give ASU a 1-0 lead.
The Sun Devils would carry the momentum into singles play, taking all six points to earn the sweep over Montana. Osborne made her return to singles play on court number six, as Gussie O'Sullivan moved up to the fifth spot. Hampton, who continues to deal with a nagging foot injury, got a break from singles play in the match.
ASU has not lost since a March 4 defeat to No. 2 California. After three consecutive non-conference matches, the team will return to Pac-12 play Friday against Washington at home.
"We've just been going out there and taking care of business as Sheila likes to say," Jump said. "We have to keep the foot on the gas pedal and keep getting it done."
Related links:
ASU tennis returns home, sweeps San Diego State
Freshman Sammi Hampton hitting her stride for ASU tennis
Reach the reporter at mfaye@asu.edu or follow @mattGfaye on Twitter.
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