Women's tennis to face Cal State Northridge, Arizona

February 04, 2009

The 19th-ranked Sun Devil Women's Tennis team will take on the Cal State Northridge Matadors and in-state rivals the Arizona Wildcats, after a successful showing in Atlanta, Ga. at ITA Kick-off Weekend. Action begins on Friday, February 6 at 1:30 p.m. MT when the Devils do battle with the Matadors in Tempe at ASU's Whiteman Tennis Center. Play continues on Sunday, February 8, when the team travels to Tucson to duel with the Wildcats at 1:00 p.m. MT.<separator></separator>About the Teams Back on their home court Friday, the Devils will seek to defend their perfect home record and add a win to their overall record of 3-1 on the season. Sophomore <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/mckenna_kelcy00.html">… McKenna</a>, who was named Pac-10 Player of the Week, is currently ranked third in the nation and topped reigning NCAA Champ 11th-ranked Amanda McDowell of Georgia Tech last weekend.<separator></separator>The Matadors will come to Tempe with a thirst for victory, after dropping their home opener 7-0 against Cal Poly last Saturday. The Devils will need to be on the lookout for the duo of Brooke Doane and Evgeniya Vertesheva, who won their second-straight match, 8-6 last weekend against Cal Poly and are now 2-1 on the season.<separator></separator>The Wildcats will battle to defend their home turf after defeating the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 6-1 on Saturday. With two players ranked in the nation's top 100: No. 91 Danielle Steinberg and No. 96 Sarah Landsman, the Wildcats will aspire to keep their 2-0 record unblemished.<separator></separator>Up Next The Devils will travel to the National Team Indoors in Madison, Wisc. February 13-16.<separator></separator>Legends of the Fall The Fall 2008 season saw ASU dominating competition at the Cal Nike Invitational, where sophomore <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/mckenna_kelcy00.html">… McKenna</a> took home the ITA Singles Gold crown as well as the ITA Doubles Gold title with teammate <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/hein_micaela00.html">M… Hein</a>. ASU also collected its third ITA All-American in two years with McKenna.<separator></separator>Double Duty The 2009 season will see exciting doubles action from Arizona State, with the return of partners <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/hein_micaela00.html">M… Hein</a> and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/mckenna_kelcy00.html">… McKenna</a>, who finished with an impressive 17-4 overall record in 2008. Senior <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/abdala_laila00.html">L… Abdala</a> will also pair up for a final season with her sister, junior <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/abdala_nadia00.html">N… Abdala</a>. The sisters will be in quest of success after posting 10 wins last season.<separator></separator>To Be the Best... The Sun Devils have traditionally played one of the most rigorous schedules in the nation and this season will be no different. The team will be tested with a mixture of strong non-conference play and strenuous Pac-10 matchups, including back-to-back matchups with No. 10 USC and No. 3 UCLA.<separator></separator>Where They Stack Up Last year, the Sun Devils finished the season ranked at No. 23 posting a 15-8 overall record, a fourth place conference finish and making it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Arizona State is currently ranked 19th with four returning letter winners and powerhouse <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/mckenna_kelcy00.html">… McKenna</a>, currently No. 3 in the nation.<separator></separator>At The Helm Coach <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/mcinerney_sheila00.htm… McInerney</a> enters her 25th season at the helm of the Sun Devil program. In 2008, she led the team to a university record 21st consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance following a winning 15-8 season. Those wins saw ASU upset NCAA Champion UCLA, as well as conquer Stanford for the first time in program history. Double Duty<separator></separator>The 2009 season will see exciting doubles action from Arizona State, with the return of partners <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/hein_micaela00.html">M… Hein</a> and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/mckenna_kelcy00.html">… McKenna</a>, who finished with an impressive 17-4 overall record in 2008. Senior <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/abdala_laila00.html">L… Abdala</a> will also pair up for a final season with her sister, junior <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/abdala_nadia00.html">N… Abdala</a>. The sisters will be in quest of success after posting 10 wins last season.<separator></separator>