Sun Devils look to bounce back at home in series against Washington schools

Photo Courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics

TEMPE – The Sun Devils come back to the desert this weekend ready to host two teams from the state of Washington. ASU was on a three-match road trip at the tail end of March and they went 1-2 during that stretch.

The Sun Devils didn’t have much success in Hollywood when they faced USC and UCLA, losing both matches 0-4. The team rebounded last weekend when they visited Eugene, Oregon to take on the Ducks which resulted in a 4-0 win for the Sun Devils.

Now sitting at (9-8, 1-4 Pac-12), ASU is currently ranked No. 38 in the most recent ITA ranking. The Sun Devils have two ranked singles players in senior Guilia Morlet (79) and freshman Emilija Tverijonaite (87). The team has one duo pair in junior Patricija Spaka and sophomore Chelsea Fontenel (34). Tvarijonaite leads the team with nine singles victories on the season with a record of 9-3.

The duo of Spaka and Fontenel were 4-2 in doubles matches for the month of March. Their best win in the month came when California’s duo of Hannah Viller Moeller and Mao Mushika who are ranked No. 22 in the country.

ASU has had a rough start to Pac-12 play. They opened up with an 0-4 record and its win against Oregon last week was their first in conference play. The Sun Devils haven’t been able to find their stride all season. Even since opening up the season on a four match winning streak. Losing No. 1 player in Morlet to a calf strain for five games contributed to the struggles. She returned last weekend only for doubles play.

Washington State

The first team the Sun Devils will welcome into Whitemen Tennis Center is the Washington State Cougars (10-6, 1-4 Pac-12) on Friday. The Cougars are 2-3 in their last five matches with wins against No. 72 Colorado and CSUN.

The Cougars and the Sun Devils have had a rough stretch to start off conference play. Both teams are currently 1-4 and both teams lost to USC and UCLA.

Washington State is led by Fifa Kunhom who has a singles record of 19-4 on the year. Their best duo team of Eva Alvarez Sandre and Elyse Tse are 14-5 on the year. The Cougars have no ranked players.

The Cougars haven’t had much success against the Sun Devils all time. ASU has dominated them all time with a record of 24-1. That one win came in 2012. ASU won 7-0 in their match last year. The Sun Devils hope to continue the dominance on Friday.

Washington State has been alright on the road with a record of 3-4. ASU has won 77 percent of their matches at home with a 7-3 record in Tempe. After facing a sweep in LA, Washington State offers the Sun Devils the opportunity to bounce back.

Washington

On Saturday the No. 25 Washington Huskies (14-6, 3-2 Pac-12) enter the desert ready to bolster their record. All six of the Huskies’ losses have come to top-25 teams in the country, they’re 1-6 against top-25 teams and their only win came against San Diego.. They’re currently on a four game winning streak, with a 10-3 record at home and 3-3 on the road.

Washington has two players ranked in singles with Alexia Jacobs (83) and Astrid Olsen (125). Jacbos is 17-5 on the season and Olsen, 17-9. Both have been on fire recently, with each being on at least a two match winnings streak. The Huskies have two ranked duo partners in, Alexia Jacobs and Astrid Olsen (56) and Catherine Gagnon and Melissa Sakar (72).

Recent history is on the side of the Huskies to take this matchup. The all-time record for ASU against the Huskies is 22-7. Regardless of the good record all-time, the Huskies have won the past four outta five matchups. Winning their battle last year in Seattle with a score of 4-1.

Doubles should be competitive in this matchup with the No. 34 and No. 56 ranked pairs battling it out. Both pairs are on a winning streak, so this matchup can prove to help either one for their momentum for the season.