Big Tests Ahead of No. 19 Sun Devils at ITA Kickoff Weekend

TEMPE, Ariz. – On the heels of a perfect five-match homestand to begin the season, the No. 19 Sun Devil Women’s Tennis program (5-0) will head to Auburn, Alabama, for the ITA Kickoff Weekend, considered one of the marquee events of the spring season.

The top 60 teams in all of women’s tennis are assigned to 15 host sites around the country for a two-day tournament with a spot at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on the line.

Playing at host Auburn, the Sun Devils round out the four-team field at the Yarbrough Tennis Center alongside the Tigers, UCF Knights and UCSB Gauchos.

The Sun Devils, the No. 2 seed in this regional, have drawn No. 3 UCF in the opening round on Saturday, January 28, at 2 p.m. MST. They’ll see either No. 1 Auburn or No. 4 UCSB the following day, with a start time yet to be determined.

Live stream | Live scores | More about the ITA Kickoff Weekend

If the Sun Devils are triumphant in both matches, they’ll advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships for the first time since 2020.

SUN DEVIL NOTABLES

• The Sun Devils have aced the first five tests of their season with all wins coming via clean sweep. They now have five straight sweeps to begin the year for the first time since at least the 2004-05 season.
• Rachel Hanford and Chelsea Fontenel, the team’s two newcomers, have already provided a big boost for the Sun Devils this spring. Fontenel has mainly slotted into Court 3 on singles, while Hanford has worked on singles Court 6. The two have combined to go 7-0 across singles play so far this year.
• The Sun Devils were listed as the No. 19 team in the country via the latest ITA National Polls. It’s the third consecutive ranking that they’ve checked in at No. 19.
• In addition to being nationally ranked, the Sun Devils are also well represented in the singles/doubles polls. Domenika Turkovic/Patricija Spaka are the No. 9 ranked duo in the nation, while four Sun Devils are ranked in singles – Giulia Morlet (No. 69), Turkovic (No. 74), Marianna Argyrokastriti (No. 84) and Sedona Gallagher (No. 95).
• Chasing 600: 39th-year head coach Sheila McInerney is now up to 562 career wins following the sweep of LMU on January 21.

PREVIEWING SATURDAY’S OPPONENT (NO. 23 UCF, 1-0)

• The Knights (1-0) are coming off a 4-3 season-opening victory against Stetson on Jan. 21. Sophia Biolay,…