TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona State women's tennis team did something they had only accomplished one other time in program history on Saturday afternoon at Whiteman Tennis Center.
The No. 36 Sun Devils (7-4, 1-1) knocked off No. 20 Stanford (6-3, 1-1) for the first time since 2008, while also ending their five-game winning streak on the season with a 4-3 nail-biter that came down to the final match between junior Gussie O'Sullivan and Stanford's Kimberly Yee.
"You know you have to play well to beat Stanford," said head coach Sheila McInerney. "That's actually only the second time in the 32 years I've been here that we've beaten them. You have a lot of respect for them as a program. It came down to the nitty gritty there with Gussie."
O'Sullivan's first match with Yee finished nearly faster than any other on the court, as the Australian-native got down 0-1 after a 1-6 loss in the first set. In the second, she started down 0-1 before rattling off three-straight points. Yee would tie the second set 3-3, and that was the last time she saw the match tied up. After a 6-4 victory to force a third set -- and despite the third getting to 5-4 -- O'Sullivan finished off the final point to clinch the match for ASU.
From start to finish, the Devils had to grind out every point, set and match against the Cardinal. Doubles started off on the right foot, as No. 30 doubles pair Ebony Panoho and Alexandra Osborne upset the No. 3-ranked pair in the country for the second time this season. This time it was a 6-3 victory over Taylor Davidson and Caroline Doyle.
Court two finished moments later with No. 49 Kimberly Yee and Melissa Lord tieing it up with a 6-3 win over Desirae Krawczyk and Stephanie Vlad, bringing the doubles point down to the third court.
Junior Kassidy Jump was rejoined by freshman Sammi Hampton for the first time in two weeks, and they got back to their winning ways. Jump and Hampton came up clutch, taking the match 7-5 for the Devils first -- and what would later be crucial -- point of the day.
In singles, Stanford's Melissa Lord evened it up to start it off, giving Hampton her first singles loss of the season -- 6-3, 6-2.
The Cardinal then went up 2-1 with a victory by No. 109 Krista Hardebeck over Panoho on court three.
With the Sun Devils up against the wall, their senior on court one played like the No. 1 to light a fire under her teammates. Krawczyk -- ranked No. 36 in singles -- upset No. 24 Davidson in straight sets 7-6 (7-1), 6-3.
After Jump won the first set 6-4, No. 51 Doyle battled from behind to earn a victory by the same score, forcing a third set. The junior fist pumped her way to victory, never trailing to Doyle in the third set to turn the tide and put the Devils one point away from victory.
Vlad and O'Sullivan were battling on their respective courts, both forcing third sets. On court four, Vlad wasn't throwing in the towel despite getting down 1-4 in the third. She fought back, bringing the score even at 5-all while O'Sullivan got to 5-4.
After saving the point with a backhanded reach, O'Sullivan waited for a overhand strike from Yee that went directly into the net, giving the Sun Devils the clinching fourth-point.
#SunDevils win! First time #ASU has defeated Stanford since 2008! #ForksUp #GussietheGrinder
A video posted by Sun Devil Tennis (@sundeviltennis) on Mar 5, 2016 at 2:21pm PST
"She just battled really well and to get a win over a great team like Stanford is just really good for our kids," said McInerney. "That's a signature win and we needed a big win. We haven't had one in a while, so I think it's going to help our mentality down the road too."
The Sun Devils will spend their spring break in Colorado and Utah for two more Pac-12 Conference battles on Friday, March 11 and Sunday, March 13, respectively.
No. 36 Arizona State - 4, #20 Stanford - 3 Whiteman Tennis Center Tempe, Ariz. Saturday, March 5
Doubles
1. #30 Ebony Panoho/Alexandra Osborne (ASU) def. #3 Taylor Davidson/Caroline Doyle (STA) - 6-3
2. #49 Kimberly Yee/Melissa Lord (STA) def. Desirae Krawczyk/Stephanie Vlad (ASU) - 6-3
3. Kassidy Jump/Sammi Hampton (ASU) def. #41 Krista Hardebeck/Caroline Lampl (STA) - 7-5\
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1. #36 Desirae Krawczyk (ASU) def. #24 Taylor Davidson (STA) - 7-6 (7-1), 6-3
2. Kassidy Jump (ASU) def. #51 Caroline Doyle (STA) - 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
3. #109 Krista Hardebeck (STA) def. Ebony Panoho (ASU) - 6-4, 7-5
4. Caroline Lampl (STA) def. Stephanie Vlad (ASU) - 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
5. Melissa Lord (STA) def. Sammi Hampton (ASU) - 6-3, 6-2
6. Gussie O'Sullivan (ASU) def. Kimberly Yee (STA) - 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
Order of Finish: 5, 3, 1, 2, 4, 6