ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- On day one of the Michigan Invitational, the Sun Devil women's tennis team cruised through doubles, while splitting the six singles matches at Varsity Tennis Center. The morning opened up with six singles matches against Tennessee, with doubles taking place in the afternoon at 1 p.m. EST against DePaul.
Three of the six singles matches were captured in straight sets by ASU, while the other three ended with three-setters. In two of those three matches, the respective Devil won the first set before dropping the final two.
"I thought it was a really competitive day for us, which is a great way to start the season," said head coach Sheila McInerney. "The singles matches against Tennesee were hard fought and overall we played well."
Sophomore Sammi Hampton, who is ranked No. 49 in the ITA preseason rankings, rolled to a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Volunteer Sadie Hammond. Phoenix-native freshman Savannah Slaysman was also impressive, winning in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 over Johanna Silva, while newcomer Kelley Anderson earned 6-1, 6-4 victories over Ariadna Riley.
After the hot start by the Devils, Tennessee began to shift the momentum.
Junior transfer Nicole Fossa-Huergo won a tiebreak in the first set, 7-6(2), but lost a nail-biter in the second set, 5-7. Her opponent, Eve Repic, rolled that into a 6-1 victory in the third set for the match point.
A court over, No. 63 Kassidy Jump did something similar. After controlling the first set with a 6-2 win, Tennessee's Britanny Lindl -- ranked just below her at No. 64 -- took the second set, 6-4. That translated into a tight, tiebreak point in the third set, which favored Lindl 7-6(7).
The grinder, senior Gussie O'Sullivan, battled into an inevitable third set. The Australian senior went toe-to-toe with Gabby Schuck, losing the first set 6-2 before bouncing back with a 6-3 win of her own in the second. The third turned into a back-and-forth battle, with Schuck eventually taking the set and match with a 7-5 victory.
Senior Alex Osborne played in an exhibition match against DePaul's Milica Tesic, cruising to a 6-0, 6-1 win.
"Sammi, Kelley, Savannah and Alex played very solid matches and closed out their opponents in straight sets, which is a good sign," said McInerney. "Kassidy, Gussie and Nicole all played tough three-set matches, but unfortunately couldn't quite close them out when they had the opportunity. Playing such competitive matches should help our team as the weekend progresses."
In doubles, Anderson and Slaysman, who earned the No. 36 preseason ranking in doubles, took care of business with a 6-3 victory over DePaul's Yulia Shupenia and Aspasia Avgeri.
Pac-12 Champion Alex Osborne teamed up with Fossa-Huergo competed well together in a 6-2 win against Patricia Lancranjan and Keisha Clousing.
The Ying & Yang duo of Kassidy Jump and Sammi Hampton, who return as the only reunited doubles group, defeated Ana Vladutu and Marina Cozac, 6-0.
"We ended the day well with a doubles sweep of DePaul and look forward to another great day of matches tomorrow," said McInerney.
The ladies return home to officially open up the regular season with a dual match against Northern Arizona on Friday, Jan. 20 at 1:30 p.m. MST. They'll turn around for a Sunday morning showdown against UC-Davis at 11 a.m. MST.
Michigan Invitational
Jan. 14-16, 2017
Singles Results
Three of the six singles matches were captured in straight sets by ASU, while the other three ended with three-setters. In two of those three matches, the respective Devil won the first set before dropping the final two.
"I thought it was a really competitive day for us, which is a great way to start the season," said head coach Sheila McInerney. "The singles matches against Tennesee were hard fought and overall we played well."
Sophomore Sammi Hampton, who is ranked No. 49 in the ITA preseason rankings, rolled to a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Volunteer Sadie Hammond. Phoenix-native freshman Savannah Slaysman was also impressive, winning in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 over Johanna Silva, while newcomer Kelley Anderson earned 6-1, 6-4 victories over Ariadna Riley.
After the hot start by the Devils, Tennessee began to shift the momentum.
Junior transfer Nicole Fossa-Huergo won a tiebreak in the first set, 7-6(2), but lost a nail-biter in the second set, 5-7. Her opponent, Eve Repic, rolled that into a 6-1 victory in the third set for the match point.
A court over, No. 63 Kassidy Jump did something similar. After controlling the first set with a 6-2 win, Tennessee's Britanny Lindl -- ranked just below her at No. 64 -- took the second set, 6-4. That translated into a tight, tiebreak point in the third set, which favored Lindl 7-6(7).
The grinder, senior Gussie O'Sullivan, battled into an inevitable third set. The Australian senior went toe-to-toe with Gabby Schuck, losing the first set 6-2 before bouncing back with a 6-3 win of her own in the second. The third turned into a back-and-forth battle, with Schuck eventually taking the set and match with a 7-5 victory.
Senior Alex Osborne played in an exhibition match against DePaul's Milica Tesic, cruising to a 6-0, 6-1 win.
"Sammi, Kelley, Savannah and Alex played very solid matches and closed out their opponents in straight sets, which is a good sign," said McInerney. "Kassidy, Gussie and Nicole all played tough three-set matches, but unfortunately couldn't quite close them out when they had the opportunity. Playing such competitive matches should help our team as the weekend progresses."
In doubles, Anderson and Slaysman, who earned the No. 36 preseason ranking in doubles, took care of business with a 6-3 victory over DePaul's Yulia Shupenia and Aspasia Avgeri.
Pac-12 Champion Alex Osborne teamed up with Fossa-Huergo competed well together in a 6-2 win against Patricia Lancranjan and Keisha Clousing.
The Ying & Yang duo of Kassidy Jump and Sammi Hampton, who return as the only reunited doubles group, defeated Ana Vladutu and Marina Cozac, 6-0.
"We ended the day well with a doubles sweep of DePaul and look forward to another great day of matches tomorrow," said McInerney.
The ladies return home to officially open up the regular season with a dual match against Northern Arizona on Friday, Jan. 20 at 1:30 p.m. MST. They'll turn around for a Sunday morning showdown against UC-Davis at 11 a.m. MST.
Michigan Invitational
Jan. 14-16, 2017
Singles Results
Alex Osborne (ASU) d. Milica Tesic (DePaul), 6-0, 6-1
Eve Repic (UT) d. Nicole Foss-Huergo (ASU), 6-7 (2), 7-5, 6-1
No. 64 Brittany Lindl (UT) d. No. 63 Kassidy Jump (ASU), 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7)
Gabby Schuck (UT) d. Gussie O'Sullivan (ASU), 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
Kelley Anderson (ASU) d. Ariadna Riley (UT), 6-1, 6-4
No. 49 Sammi Hampton (ASU) d. Sadie Hammond (UT), 7-5, 6-1
Savannah Slaysman (ASU) d. Johanna Silva (UT), 7-5, 6-3
Doubles Results
Alex Osborne/Nicole Foss-Huergo (ASU) d. Patricia Lancranjan/Keisha Clousing (DePaul), 6-2
No. 36 Kelley Anderson/Savannah Slaysman (ASU) d. Yulia Shupenia/Aspasia Avgeri (DePaul), 6-3
Kassidy Jump/Sammi Hampton (ASU) d. Ana Vladutu/Marina Cozac (DePaul), 6-0