March 15, 2009
The fourteenth-ranked Sun Devil Women's Tennis team fought hard against the eighth-ranked California Golden Bears on Sunday, but were ultimately overcome by the Berkeley squad in a 5-2 decision.
Doubles action was a battle of strength and speed between No. 10 duo Kelcy McKenna and Micaela Hein and No. 13 Mari Andersson and Jana Juricova, who ultimately upset the Devils' squad 8-6. Sisters Nadia Abdala and Laila Abdala stayed competitive against Bojana Bobusic and Claire Ilcinkas, but were overpowered 8-6 for the doubles point. The sole Devils' victory came from Ashlee Brown and Sianna Simmons who triumphed over Stephany Chang and Marion Ravelojaona 9-7.
Singles play brought a tough loss on court one as No. 26 Jana Juricova swiftly upset No. 3 Kelcy McKenna 6-0, 6-1. The tables turned in favor of the Sun Devils, as junior Nadia Abdala upset her third ranked opponent in a row, defeating No. 74 Mari Andersson 6-3, 6-4 on court two. However the advantage was again with the Golden Bears as Claire Ilcinkas defeated Laila Abdala 6-4, 6-2 in the third spot and No. 23 Bojana Bobusic got the better of Ashlee Brown 6-0, 6-7 (7-4), 6-0 on court four. The Maroon and Gold rallied for one more win as Ali Van Horne defeated Stephany Chang in the number six spot 6-2, 7-6 (2).
The Devils return to action on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. MT when they host No. 75 Purdue in Tempe at ASU's Whiteman Tennis Center.
Doubles:
Mari Andersson/ Jana Juricova (Cal) def. Kelcy McKenna/ Micaela Hein (ASU) 8-6
Bojana Bobusic / Claire Ilcinkas (Cal) def. Nadia Abdala/Laila Abdala (ASU) 8-6
Ashlee Brown / Sianna Simmons (ASU) def. Stephany Chang / Marion Ravelojaona (Cal) 9-7
Doubles order of finish: 1, 2*, 3
Singles:
Jana Juricova (Cal) def. Kelcy McKenna (ASU) 6-0, 6-1
Nadia Abdala (ASU) def. Mari Andersson (Cal) 6-3, 6-4
Claire Ilcinkas (Cal) def. Laila Abdala (ASU) 6-4, 6-2
Bojana Bobusic (Cal) def. Ashlee Brown (ASU) 6-0, 6-7 (7-4), 6-0
Marion Ravelojaona (Cal) def. Sianna Simmons (ASU) 6-7(4), 7-6(7), 1-0(8) (tiebreaker) Ali Van Horne (ASU) def. Stephany Chang (Cal) 6-2, 7-6 (2) Singles order of finish: 1, 2, 3, 4*, 6, 5