(Photo: Sammy Nute/WCSN)
On senior day, when the spotlight was supposed to be on the seniors, they were actually on sophomore Chelsea Fontenel as her entire team was standing on the court beside her, giving her their energy.
On a 95-degree day featuring two red-hot teams, Fontenel needed one more game to clinch the match for the Sun Devils and send off her seniors the right way. Additionally, the match meant even more as Arizona State women’s tennis took on Territorial Cup rival Arizona.
Her opponent, graduate student Kayla Wilkins’ return, floated out of bounds right in front of Fontenel, signaling she just won the set, clinching the match for her team. She fell to her knees while her entire team ran to her, screaming and celebrating as they dogpiled her, celebrating a huge win.
“You’ve been working hard to be ready for this moment to show your teammates and yourself that you can really pull this through for the entire school and senior day,” Fontenel said. “When I need energy I look over to my teammates and when I see my seniors especially I was like, I really can’t let them down. Not today, so it took everything it had in men, and it wasn’t pretty. It was very mental, but I’m just happy that I came out on top.”
The No. 31 Sun Devils (14-8, 6-4 Pac-12) came into the match on a five-game winning streak and extended it to six after beating their rival from down south, No. 39 Arizona Wildcats (16-11, 4-6 Pac-12), 4-3.
“It’s always a tough one,” ASU head coach Sheila McInerney said. “I think about the senior day, particularly when it’s senior day with Arizona. You’ve got the rivalry, you’ve got the emotions, and this year we had four seniors, and that’s a lot, so I think we handled it pretty well.”
Those emotions carried heavy all week for the senior players. ASU honored four seniors before game time Guilia Morlet, Marianna Argyrokastriti, Rachel Hanford and Natasha Hill. Morlet knew the match would be difficult, but got it together for her team to make sure she took care of business.
“The last two days, I had a heavy chest, and I was like, this is actually coming to an end,” Morlet said. “It was a bit tough. It was a bit sad. But today, it’s another match. I really tried to tell myself as much as possible that it was just a match, especially against Arizona. I couldn’t let my emotions get in the way.”
Morlet and Argyrokastriti both were responsible for getting ASU a point in the match and, for the final time in their careers, won a singles game in Whiteman Tennis Center. They put their emotions aside and battled for the team and the school.
No. 73 ranked Morlet battled it out on court 1 against No. 98 ranked Wildcats sophomore Reece Carter in what was the most anticipated matchup heading into the match. Morlet was able to get some breaks early in the first set which led to her taking the first set 6-1.
In the second set, she went down to Carter early on, 1-4. Telling herself “to not let the second set go like this,” she locked in and was able to push the set into a tiebreaker. After she clinched the match, she screamed with emotion knowing how big of a win that was for her and the team.
“If I need to give everything for one set, I need to do it,” Morlet said. “Because it’s senior day, and we don’t want to lose, obviously, and it’s against Arizona. I changed my mindset, and I need to fight today and fight right now, and I cannot let the second set go.”
Argyrokastriti always brings energy when it comes to matches, and in her final match, she didn’t fail to bring the energy again, screaming after every game she won. When she clinched her singles match on court three against Wildcat freshman Martyna Ostrzygalo (6-2, 6-0), you can guess what she did next: scream as loud as she could with emotion.
“I was trying so hard not to think about this being my last match,” Argyrokastriti said. “When that ball actually landed out, I just took a second and stared at the crowd. I gave a kiss to the court, you know me I’m dramatic. It just means the world to me. I’ve loved these courts. I’ve played here for four years. So to end on a win against a rival, it couldn’t be any better.”
The team has really come together these past couple of weeks. Going on a four-match losing streak to open up conference play wasn’t easy. Morlet says that experience “brought the team together.” That’s why the emotions and energy during the match were different. The entire team wanted to come together to make sure that these seniors, who have all been here for four years, left with a win.
Now on a six-match winning streak, the Sun Devils can look ahead to the Pac-12 championship, which takes place mid-next week. The team understands it can be their last match at any moment and continues their mindset of taking it one match at a time while giving it their all.
“I just want to cherish these moments,” Argyrokastriti said. “The whole tournament, last Pac-12 tournament ever. It’d be nice to do well, but at the same time, I just want to make sure I give my 100%.”
