Strong Finish Drives No. 14 ASU Women’s Tennis Past Texas Tech

(Photo: Ayden Vasquez/WCSN)

TEMPE – As a swarm of Sun Devils mobbed junior Emilija Tverijonaite following her third-set winner, the Lithuanian was pleased to have clinched her match, but didn’t yet grasp its significance.

Tverijonaite’s win not only capped an impressive comeback and added to her eight-game win streak, but it also secured her team’s win over Texas Tech.

After a strong all-around showing, No. 14 Arizona State women’s tennis defeated Texas Tech (14-8, 5-5 Big 12) 4-1 Friday night, improving to 16-4 overall and 8-2 in Big 12 play.

“I didn’t know I was going to clinch,” Tverijonaite said. “I didn’t know what the team score was, because Charlotte (assistant coach Charlotte Chavatipon) told me to block out everything that is happening around me and just focus on my own match.”

Despite a robust win on paper, ASU fought and clawed its way past Texas Tech. Early on, it even looked like the Red Raiders had the upper hand.

Texas Tech started the evening by clinching the doubles point after taking two of three matches, though they did it in the most dramatic way possible. With both teams having won one match apiece, all eyes shifted to court three to decide which team earned the doubles point. ASU led 5-3; it only needed one more game to clinch a doubles victory.

But then came the Red Raiders.

One blunder snowballed into a few, and soon enough, Texas Tech had come back. The Red Raiders would go on to win the match, 7-5, and take the first point of the evening.

Head coach Jamea Jackson still saw improvement from her players despite the loss, having just faced a tough doubles opponent.

“That was one of the best doubles teams that we’ve played,” Jackson said. “They’ve only lost three matches this year.”

Texas Tech’s momentum continued through the first few games of the singles matches. The Red Raiders held first-set leads on every court, one through four, at one point.

But, mirroring its season as a whole, the Sun Devils stormed back after the slow start.

Freshman Sarang Lim’s match win was the first domino to topple in favor of the Sun Devils, picking up a dominant 6-1, 6-3, victory on court six.

Once one Sun Devil prevailed, the rest quickly followed.

Sophomore Lily Taylor added to the momentum, winning 7-5, 6-3.

Freshman Zlata Bartanusz won her match 6-2, 7-5. With her coach to her right, and fans gathered on a lawn to her left, Bartanusz rode a wave of cheers and positive momentum to victory. In a back-and-fourth 12th game to close the match, the French freshman silently outmuscled her opponent, Havana Kadi.

After winning a point, Kadi would yell and throw her hand in the air. Bartanusz, though, would give the slightest head nod or a simple fist pump after winning a point, letting her play speak for itself. When Bartanusz eventually won her match, her coach actually let out a louder shriek of excitement than she did. Bartanusz walked straight to the net to shake Kadi’s hand.

Coach Jackson typically spends her gamedays floating between courts five and six. As much as she would like to watch her top players, she goes where she’s needed the most. Assistant coaches Chavatipon and Diego Nava coach the top four players.

Jackson caught only the tail end of Tverijonaite’s comeback on court one, but remains confident her top player can perform at a high level regardless of who’s on her sideline.

“She’s going to get the job done for ASU, whether I’m there or not,” Jackson said. “I have 100 percent faith in (Emilija), so I know that that’s a court that I don’t have to be on.”

Despite not having her head coach’s eyes on her match, Tverijonaite rallied behind the dozens of fans in attendance, who were cheering and chanting after every winner she hit.

“Playing at home is the most amazing feeling,” Tverijonaite said. “I’ve never felt that way before coming to college… It just means a lot to have all those fans coming and supporting all of us.”

Whiteman Tennis Center was rocking Friday night. ASU stays in Tempe through Sunday, when it faces Colorado in its final home match of the season, where coach Jackson expects another large turnout from the Sun Devil faithful.

“It’s a great tennis town,” Jackson said. “The fans are a big reason for why we do what we do. That connection with the community is something that is special in tennis.”