Women's tennis opens season in Las Vegas

The Arizona State women's tennis team opens its spring season at the Freeman Memorial Invitational in Las Vegas. The invitational, hosted by UNLV, begins on Friday, January 16 and concludes on Sunday, January 18. The Sun Devils are sending six athletes to the invitational including Kelcy McKenna, Nadia Abdala, Micaela Hein, Laila Abdala, Ashlee Brown and Sianna Simmons.

Looking at the Competition:
The Freeman Memorial Tennis Championships will boast an impressive list of strong competitors. All the teams participating are ranked in the top 55 and several are in the top 10. No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 Baylor, No. 5 Stanford, No. 7 Florida, No. 8 Georgia Tech, No. 10 USC, No. 15 Fresno State, No. 18 North Carolina, No. 39 UNLV and No. 55 Oregon are the teams participating along with No. 21 Arizona State.

One of the Nation's Best
Coming off an impressive falls season, Kelcy McKenna enters 2009 ranked No. 3 in the country. The sophomore earned the ranking after winning the ITA All-American Championship Singles Finals this past October. The last Sun Devil to be ranked in the top five was four-time All-American Adria Engel. Engel was ranked as high as No. 5 in her career.

Celebrating Anne Pittman
Legendary coach Dr. Anne Pittman, who was at the helm of the ASU women's tennis program from 1954-1984, passed away this past November. Remembered as a fighter for women's opportunities in athletics, a player, coach and educator, Pittman led the Sun Devils to three USLTA National Championships and, to this day, has the best winning percentage (.826) of any ASU coach.

Next Up:
The Sun Devils open their dual season against NAU on Saturday Jan. 24. The Sun Devils hold a perfect 10-0 record against the Lumberjacks. The following day, the team will take on UC Davis, whom ASU blanked last season 7-0.