No. 24 ASU women's tennis defeated Oklahoma and Kansas State in Tempe on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, to remain perfect at home this season.
Oklahoma
ASU needed the final doubles match to secure the point after the team and Oklahoma split the first two matches. After falling down 4-3, redshirt senior Sammi Hampton and freshman Marianna Argyrokastriti won three consecutive games against Oklahoma juniors Kianah Motosono and Marcelina Podlinska to win the match 6-4 and secure the doubles point for ASU.
Senior Tereza Kolarova and freshman Giulia Morlet defeated Oklahoma freshman Dana Guzman and senior Martina Capurro by a score of 6-2 to win the first doubles match of the day.
Oklahoma tied the doubles matches by sophomore Carmen Corley and junior Ivana Corley defeating ASU seniors Ilze Hattingh and Lauryn John-Baptiste by a score of 6-2.
Hampton's singles match was abandoned after Capurro retired due to an injury, automatically giving Hampton the point for the Sun Devils.
After John-Baptiste lost her match to Ivana Corley by a score of 6-4, 6-2, Argyrokastriti won her match in straight sets over Podlinska to win the Sun Devils' second singles match.
Argyrokastriti said she "wasn't really focused" on her match at first, being distracted by Morlet's match against Guzman. "But, once I got focused on my match, I pulled out the 6-3, 6-3 win," Argyrokastriti said.
Kolarova lost her singles match to Motosono by a score of 6-4, 7-5. Morlet also lost her match 6-2, 6-4 in straight sets, forcing the game to be decided on the final singles match.
In the last match of the day, Hattingh won her first set against Carmen Corley 7-6 but lost the second 6-4, forcing a third set. She shut out Carmen Corley 6-0 in the third set, securing a 4-3 win for the Sun Devils.
"I literally decided to stay positive and I told myself, 'No matter what, I'm going to be positive,'" Hattingh said. "I was shaking, but when I saw everyone walking towards the court and cheering me on, I knew what I had to do, and I'm glad I pulled out the win."
Kansas State
Starting with the double's matches, Hampton and Argyrokastriti secured the Sun Devils' first win of the day, defeating Kansas State senior Lilla Barzó and junior Anna Turco 6-0.
The pairing of Kolarova and Morlet defeated Kansas State sophomore Ioana Gheorghita and freshman Manami Ukita 6-2, winning the doubles point for the Sun Devils.
Argyrokastriti won her singles match against Turco in straight sets. John-Baptiste also won her singles match in straight sets against Kansas State senior Margot Decker.
The singles matches of three players — Morlet, Kolarova and Hampton — went to a third set after each player split the first two sets with their opponents.
However, before any of the three could complete their matches, Hattingh defeated Kansas State sophomore Karine-Marion Job 7-5, 6-3, securing the win for the Sun Devils. Hampton's match continued after ASU won, eventually losing the tiebreaker set 10-6, finishing the day with a team score of 4-1.
ASU takes on Southern Methodist next on Feb. 13 at 11 a.m. MST in Lubbock, Texas.
Reach the reporter at lhertz@asu.edu and follow @laurenrachell_ on Twitter.
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