Arizona State University Team Page
Keeping their 7-0 home record perfect, the No. 21 Arizona State Sun Devils defeated Utah State 7-0, on Friday afternoon at the Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe, Ariz.
"I thought we took care of business at courts two and three, and came out particularly on courts one through four and played very well," ASU head coach Sheila McInerney said.
The Sun Devils entered the match with two players -- Senior Jacqueline Cako and freshman Desirae Krawczyk -- ranked in the top 125 in the country. The Sun Devils No. 1 Doubles Pairing, Cako and Nicole Smith, entered the match at #40 in the nation.
Some shuffeling of the lineup by ASU played to their advantage; swapping the No. 2 and 3 courts from the previous matches. Sophomore Leighann Sahagun was bumped down to No. 3, but made the most of it snapping her two match losing streak, defeating Aggie Kristina Voytsekhovich in two sets 6-1, 6-1.
"I think it's good to switch the kids when they need it. The rules say if you have kids that are equal you can flip them and Desirae (Krawczyk) has won her last three matches and Leighann (Sahagun) has played well and lost a couple tough ones, so I just think sometimes for the girls it's good to flip it up a little bit," McInerney said.
Although only a freshman, Krawczyk stepped up to the No. 2 court and walked away with great success winning 6-2, 6-3.
Also building upon recent successes, Jacqueline Cako and Stephanie Vlad were able to steamroll through their opponents, winning 6-1, 6-0 and 6-1, 6-1 respectively.
The No. 5 and 6 courts on the southern half of the Whiteman Tennis Center received just as much attention, with sophomore Joanna Smith and senior Hannah James helping to make the shutout complete. Joanna Smith secured her victory 7-6 (4), 6-2 and Hannah James pulled through late in the second set to win 6-2, 7-5.
"Joanna (Smith) got off to a little bit of a slow start, but then picked it up and Hannah (James) played pretty well so overall it was good day," McInerney said.
With Utah State giving the Sun Devils their 7th win of the season, the team is still preparing for one of the toughest matches of the season thus far against St. Mary's.
"We've got a couple tough matches coming up and a very tough St. Mary's team coming up tomorrow -- to get a match under your belt today was probably good," McInerney said. "It wasn't too too long, it sharpened us up and we have to be ready to go tomorrow."
#21 Arizona State 7 :: Utah State 0
Whiteman Tennis Center
Tempe, Arizona
3/1/13
1:30 p.m. MST
DOUBLES
1. McKenzie Davis/Jaci West (UTST) def. Nicole Smith/Jacqueline Cako (ASU) 8-6
2. Joanna Smith/Ebony Panoho (ASU) def. Julie Tukuafu/Kristina Voytsekhovich (UTST) 8-0
3. Leighann Sahagun/Desirae Krawczyk (ASU) def. Hillary Hays/Kallie Sperry (UTST) 8-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
SINGLES
1. Jacqueline Cako (ASU) def. McKenzie Davis (UTST) 6-1, 6-0
2. Desirae Krawczyk (ASU) def. Jaci West (UTST) 6-2, 6-3
3. Leighann Sahagun (ASU) def. Kristina Voytsekhovich (UTST) 6-1, 6-1
4. Stephanie Vlad (ASU) def. Julie Tukuafu (UTST) 6-1, 6-1
5. Hannah James (ASU) def. Kallie Sperry (UTST) 6-2, 7-5
6. Joanna Smith (ASU) def.Hillary Hays (UTST) 7-6 (4), 6-2
Order of Finish: 4, 1, 3, 2, 5, 6
