April 3, 2001 SEATTLE - THIS WEEK: The 20th-ranked Washington women's tennis team (14-6, 4-1 in Pac-10) returns home to play host to No. 46 Arizona (6-8, 1-5 in Pac-10) on Apr. 6 before taking on No. 13 Arizona State (13-5, 5-3 in Pac-10) on Apr. 7. Matches are set to begin at noon. Admission is free to both matches, at Bill Quillian Stadium, which is located on the UW campus directly north of Bank of America Arena at Edmundsom Pavilion. SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: Arizona is coming off of a 4-3 victory over No. 33 Tulsa. The Wildcats earned two wins to pick a crucial point in the doubles portion of the match. The Cats then picked up singles victories at the No. 1, 3, and 6 slots to capture the victory. Washington will be facing an experienced Arizona team, a squad consisting of two freshman, three juniors, and two seniors. The Wildcats find themselves at No. 46 in the Mar. 28 edition of the WingspanBank.com poll. Senior Michelle Gough is No. 79 in the latest singles rankings. Gough leads the team with a 15-9 overall singles record, including a win over the then ninth-ranked Jewel Peterson of Southern California. Arizona will be looking to gather the doubles point as the Wildcats are a perfect 5-0 when they win the doubles point. On the other hand, Washington will be looking to claim the doubles point since Arizona is 0-8 when it fails to capture the first point. SCOUTING THE SUN DEVILS: The 13th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils began the month of April with a 7-0 victory over No. 33 on Apr. 1 at the Whiteman Tennis Center. With the victory, the Sun Devils extended their home winning streak to 11 matches. Five ASU players are currently listed in the nation's top rankings by the ITA. In singles, No. 7 Adria Engel is accompanied by No. 63 Megan Yeats and No. 82 Mhairi Brown. Engel has earned a 13-3 record at the No. 1 slot, and Yeats has posted a 12-4 record at the No. 3 position thus far. As a doubles team, the Adria Engel/Karin Palme tandem posts a No. 23 ranking, while the Mhairi Brown/Celena McCoury combo ranks No. 43. Freshman Cindy Sureephong, who finished fourth in doubles competition at the 2000 Clay Court Nationals, has compiled a 18-3 record while going 14-1 in dual action. SERIES RECORDS: Washington will be looking for their first victory over Arizona, as the Wildcats hold a 0-17 overall advantage. The Huskies posted their first-ever win over the then 6th-ranked Sun Devils last season with a 5-4 victory to bring their all-time series record to 1-14-1. COMING UP NEXT: The Huskies will conclude their regular season home schedule as they play host to conference opponents No. 29 UCLA on Apr. 13 before facing No. 18 Southern California (USC) on Apr. 14. Matches are scheduled to start at noon. Admission is free to both matches, at Bill Quillian Stadium, which is located on the UW campus directly north of Bank of America Arena at Edmundsom Pavilion. LAST WEEK: The Huskies traveled to Eugene, Oreg. to take on conference rival Oregon and Pacific. Washington cruised to a 6-1 victory over Oregon on Mar. 30 to post a 47-1 all time series record over the Ducks. The triumphant Huskies then upped their season record to 14-6 with a 6-1 win over Pacific on Mar. 31. Washington won all three doubles matches to grab the first point of the dual. The Huskies then proceeded to clinch the match, garnering wins at five of the six singles slots in the lineup. Each winning spot for the Huskies was done so in straight sets. IN THE RANKINGS: Washington is currently ranked 20th in the latest WingspanBank.com Collegiate Tennis Rankings with the next ranking due out Apr. 4. The Huskies feature three singles players in the rankings along with two doubles teams. Senior Kristina Kraszewski slipped to No. 9 in the latest poll. She was previously ranked seventh. Freshman Claire Carter continues to hold a spot in the top 30 as the tall righty moves down to No. 26, while sophomore Darija Klaic dropped down to No. 72. The duo of Klaic and Kraszewski rose to the No. 10 slot in the latest rankings, while Carter and junior Ilona Kordonskaya made their debut at No. 30. LAST YEAR WITH WASHINGTON: Under the mentorship of fourth-year head coach Patty McCain, the 1999-2000 Washington women's tennis team posted the highest ranking team in the programs history and advanced to the NCAA West Regional Tournament for the fourth-straight year. By the end of the season, the squad had achieved a ranking of No. 30 in the nation and a 12-10 overall record. |
