Women's tennis hits the road to face Cal, Stanford

April 02, 2009

No. 21 Arizona State Women's Tennis hits the road to face No. 8 Cal, No. 10 Stanford Devils seek to remain undefeated in conference play The 21st ranked ASU Women's Tennis team will do battle with two top-10 conference opponents this week: No. 8 Cal on Friday, April 3 at 1:30 p.m. and No. 10 Stanford at noon the following day.<separator></separator>About the Teams The Sun Devils (10-4, 3-0 Pac-10) head to the bay area confident, coming off a stellar win that saw them trump No. 39 Sacramento State in a 6-1 decision. Among the Devils' arsenal this week will be No. 3 <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/mckenna_kelcy00.html">… McKenna</a>, a consistent performer who is 11-1 on the dual season, playing every match on the No. 1 court. The Devils will also look to No. 53 <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/abdala_nadia00.html">N… Abdala</a> who has dropped only two matches this season and upset three nationally ranked players: USC's Sarah Fansler (then No. 22), UCLA's Andrea Remynse (then 27th) and Cal's Mari Andersson (No. 42). The team also boasts two ranked doubles teams: No. 13 <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/mckenna_kelcy00.html">… McKenna</a> and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/hein_micaela00.html">M… Hein</a> and No. 71, sisters Laila and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/abdala_nadia00.html">N… Abdala</a>. McKenna/Hein are 16-6 overall this season, while the Abdala sisters are holding their own at 12-8.<separator></separator>Eighth ranked Cal (12-4, 3-1 Pac-10) enters into Friday's match confident after a strong 6-1 win over UCLA last week. The team has an astounding five players ranked in the nation's top 50: No. 10 Jana Juricova (9-3), No. 21 Bojana Bobusic (15-1), No. 25 Marina Cossou (2-4), No. 42 Mari Andersson (11-3) and No. 47 Claire Ilcinkas (12-4). Andersson and Bobusic are also undefeated in the Pac-10 this season, both holding 4-0 records. The Golden Bears also have a strong doubles lineup starting with No. 6 Mari Andersson and Jana Juricova (10-1, 3-0 Pac-10), followed up by No. 20 Claire Ilcinkas and Marina Cossou, and No. 38 Bojana Bobusic and Jana Juricova. While all are strong teams, Ilcinkas and Cossou have yet to win a Pac-10 matchup this season. <separator></separator>On March 13 the Devils faced Cal in non-conference play, falling 5-2 at home. Cal's Jana Juricova handed <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/mckenna_kelcy00.html">… McKenna</a> her only loss of the dual season. However, <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/abdala_nadia00.html">N… Abdala</a> rallied back to upset 42nd ranked Mari Andersson in singles action.<separator></separator>Like Cal, the No. 10 Stanford Cardinal (12-3, 3-1 Pac-10) will by no means be short on talent Saturday when they square off against the Sun Devils. No. 11 Hilary Barte is 15-1 in dual play, seeing all of her action on the No. 1 court. No. 83 Jessica Nguyen (12-3 duals) has won seven consecutive matches and will undoubtedly be looked to this weekend to help lead the Cardinal after losing 5-2 to in-state rivals USC last week. Stanford also boasts two ranked doubles teams: No. 11 Lindsay Burdette and Hilary Barte, as well as No. 57Carolyn McVeigh and Jessica Nguyen.<separator></separator>Although the teams have not met in dual play this season, Stanford overcame the Maroon and Gold 6-1 in their last meeting on March 8, 2008.<separator></separator>Up Next The team returns to home action next weekend for back-to-back matchups against two southern California schools. On Friday, April 10th they will match up against the UCLA Bruins at 1:30 p.m. The following day they will suit up to take on the USC Women of Troy--Head Coach <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/mcinerney_sheila00.htm… McInerney's</a> alma mater--at noon. Both games will take place in Tempe at ASU's Whiteman Tennis Center.<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 has seen 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. They have lost only one match, holding at 6-1 record on the season. 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 has been no different. The team has been tested with a mixture of strong non-conference play and strenuous Pac-10 matchups, including this week's contest against two top-10 teams.<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 21st with four returning letter winners and powerhouse <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/mckenna_kelcy00.html">… McKenna</a>, coming in at 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.