Photo Courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics
TEMPE—With her entire team chanting “ASU” behind her back, senior Rachel Hanford had the chance to do something that hadn’t been done for the Sun Devils in over three decades. Tied at 7-6 in the tiebreaker, Hanford needed one more point to clinch the second set and the singles match to give her team the victory.
Going into Sunday afternoon, the Sun Devils didn’t have a win against a ranked opponent all season, despite being 6-3 on the year. After a close match last weekend against No. 1 Oklahoma State which the Sun Devils ended up losing 4-0. They needed a statement win.
Hanford had the team covered. With a forehand swing she scored the last point needed to win her tiebreaker set with a score of 7-6 which clinched the victory for the Sun Devils over No. 7 Ohio State, and immediately after her entire team ran at her jumping up and down with excitement.
“Honestly I would say disbelief,” Hanford said. “I don’t even think I know where the ball landed. When it’s a pressure situation like that and you see your teammates up on the line rooting for you, supporting you, it’s kind of hard to put into words how special that is.”
The Sun Devils (7-3) upsetted the No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes (6-4), 4-1 at Whiteman Tennis Center on Sunday. This is the first time since 1990 that the Sun Devils have beaten the Buckeyes.
“I think it’s a great win for us,” Sun Devils head coach Sheila McInerney said. “Lets face it, I think Ohio State’s beaten us probably the last five or six times.”
ASU matched up with Ohio State just a month ago at the ITA kickoff weekend. During that matchup the Sun Devils got swept 4-0. Just a month after that matchup at home where the Sun Devils are 6-1 at, they got sweet revenge knocking off the No. 7 team in the country.
“I think it shows our resilience,” Hanford said. “We’ve had a couple tough losses. We’ve had some injuries we’ve been facing, but regardless, we show up to practice every day ready to work, knowing what our goals are and who we are doing it for, ourselves. I think today really showed all the hard work.”
Last weekend despite losing to Oklahooma state 4-0, all three doubles matches went to a tiebreaker and some singles matches went to a tiebreaker as well. It was a closer loss than what the score shows, and that gave ASU confidence.
“We’ve competed well against the number one team in the country. I think they gave us some confidence,” McInerney said. “I think we feel pretty good about going into the match.”
It’s that confidence and energy that boosted ASU into a victory. Senior Marianna Argyrokastriti for the Sun Devils provides that energy for the team. During Hanfords last couple of sets she was leading the “ASU” chant. When Argyrokastriti closed out her singles match with a win (6-4,6-4) against Buckeyes Sydni Ratliff, she threw her racket into the air and screamed as loud as she could in excitement.
“I love the team, I love the atmosphere here. I see these girls as my family,” Argyrokastriti said. “We’ve been through a lot, especially with Rachel that was the last one on. I just wanna give her whatever I have, I know we deserve a big win like that. I know we can beat opponents like that, and I just wanna give it my all and I think I did that today and it helped, hopefully.”
The energy started early for the Sun Devils in doubles, which ultimately followed in singles as well. On court 2 the duo of senior Guila Morlet and junior Sara Svetac won four straight points to secure a 3-0 lead early on in the match. Fast-forward and the duo led 5-3, and after winning three straight points the Sun Devils were on match point. Morlet closed out the match with a backhand hit that gave ASU the court 2 victory 6-3.
On court 3 for ASU Marianna and Emijlia led 5-3 as well. While at match point with a set lead of 40-15, an intense alley sequence took place which eventually led to Ohio State hitting an out, which gave ASU the game and set, 6-3, which gave the Sun Devils the doubles point.
Now the Sun Devils play Baylor, on the road, on Tuesday. After that matchup ASU starts Pac-12 play with No. 3 ranked Stanford.
“We got to take care of Baylor, they’re a good team on the road,” McInerney said. “Stanford and Cal are always two perennial powers. Stanford, I think is two in the country right now. So we’ve got our work cut for us.
With a tough schedule coming up it doesn’t faze this team at all. It’s that sense of family that will have this team screaming “ASU” when their teammate is about to close out a major victory for the squad.
“I think our team has more heart than anyone,” Hanford said. “I think when it comes down to these tough moments, that’s really what comes through. Going into the Pac-12 with this big win is gonna give us the confidence and momentum to continue to do well.”
