April 7, 2003
Complete Women's Tennis Release in PDF Format
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ON TAP: The No. 12 Arizona State women's tennis team (9-6, 2-3 Pac-10) returns home to the Whiteman Tennis Center to host three duals in a span of four days. The Devils will first open the three-match slate playing in a non-conference dual against Texas (8-7) on Wednesday, April 9 at 1:30 p.m. ASU will then jump back into Pac-10 action as they host No. 2 California (16-3, 3-0 Pac-10) on Friday, April 11 at 1:30 p.m. and No. 2 Stanford (15-1, 3-0 Pac-10) on Saturday, April 12 at 12:00 p.m. Both duals will count towards the Pac-10 standings.
LAST TIME OUT: The Devils split the always difficult Washington road swing as they dropped their first dual to No. 9 Washington, 5-2, but bounced back with a 4-1 win over Washington State. While the Devils got swept in doubles, they were able to comeback and take a couple singles matches from the Huskies. No. 14 Adria Engel put away No. 42 Claire Carter, 7-5, 6-3, while her teammate Joslynn Burkett defeated Dinka Hadzic 3-6, 6-3 (10-5). Against the Cougars, the Devils started better by winning the doubles point, with Cindy Sureephong and Mhairi Brown defeating Lorena Arias and Chris Martinez while fellow Devil duo Megan Yeats and Joslynn Burkett beat Zsofi Fodor and Zorana Roganovic 8-6. In singles, the Devils fared well again as Engel, Brown and Sureephong all won their matches, giving the Devils all the lead they needed to take the match.
HEAD COACH SHEILA McINERNEY: Enters her 19th season at the helm of the ASU program after leading her team to a NCAA Round of 16 appearance and a No. 9 national ranking in 2002. McInerney has also guided ASU to eight quarterfinal appearances in her tenure, and has made the NCAA tournament in 17 of her 18 seasons. McInerney was also selected as the head coach of the 2001-2002 USA Tennis Collegiate team. In 1997, McInerney was honored as the ITA National Coach of the Year after guiding the Sun Devils to a 15-7 record and a No. 7 national ranking. She also garnered 1997 Pacific-10 Conference Coach of the Year honors and is a three time (1988, '90, '01) West Region ITA Coach of the Year. McInerney, who owns a career record of 299-174 (.632), posted three 20-win seasons (1986, '90, '01) and has guided the Devils to 15 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. ASU has finished in the top-10 in five of the past six seasons and 13 times in her 18 seasons. McInerney has tutored 23 All-Americans and 13 different all-conference players.
ALL-AMERICAN NUMBERS: Senior and three-time All-American Adria Engel will look to become Arizona State's second four-time All-American selection (Reka Cseresnyes 1995-98). After capturing ASU's first Pac-10 singles title (male/female) as a sophomore, Engel is also seeking to become the school's all-time leader in wins. She is currently 21-10 and holds a career record of 122-43 (.739).
DEVILS IN THE RANKINGS: As a team, Arizona State is No. 12 in the Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings, administered by the ITA. In singles, Adria Engel is No. 16 and Dora Krstulovic comes in at No. 48. In doubles, Engel and Colaillo are No. 47, while Engel and Krstulovic are at No. 52 and Brown and Cindy Sureephong check in at No. 53.
SCHEDULE STRENGTH: Once again the Devils will face a strong non-conference slate along with the always powerful Pac-10 Conference. Thirteen ASU opponents earned NCAA bids last year, while nine of ASU's opponents are ranked in the top-25. The Pac-10 comprises five of the nation's top-10 teams and seven of the nine Pac-10 teams are ranked in the top-25.
HOME SWEET HOME: Over the past five seasons, Arizona State holds an impressive 60-15 (.800) overall dual record at the Whiteman Tennis Center, while posting a 30-6 (.833) mark the past two seasons. The Devils non-conference record is even more impressive over the past five seasons with a 48-6 (.889) mark.