INDIVIDUAL SUCCESS
The Sun Devils entered the season with a handful of uncertainties – and rightfully so. They weren’t returning their top three players from a season ago, and on a roster of seven, two of which (Sedona Gallagher and Patricija Spaka) were brand new to the program. Gallagher had transferred over the off-season from Washington and Spaka was the team’s only freshman.
The pieces quickly fell into place for McInerney and her staff.
Sophomore Giulia Morlet, who spent her freshman season playing primarily out of the No. 4 spot, held down Court 1 in singles all spring long. Morlet was masterful in the top slot, stringing together seven wins over ranked opponents. She was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week in early April, after her wins over No. 101 Haley Giavara (Cal) and No. 13 Connie Ma (Stanford) were integral in the Sun Devils’ thumping of both the Golden Bears and Cardinal on consecutive days.
She was named to the Pac-12 All-Conference First-Team at the end of the season. She ended the season ranked as the No. 65 singles player in the nation, per the ITA, good for the highest individual ranking she’s received in her collegiate career.
Paired with Morlet’s consistency, Domenika Turkovic and Patricija Spaka exhibited their own dependability alongside one another on doubles Court 1. The team’s top-ranked doubles team all spring, they went 10-5 and were one of 32 duos in the country selected to the NCAA Doubles Championship.
Turkovic ended the year nationally ranked in both singles (No. 94) and doubles (No. 39).
Spaka was equally impactful in singles play, too, going 16-2 and playing split time on Courts 5 and 6. She began her Sun Devil career a perfect 10-0 and didn’t lose her first match until more than two months into the season (March 20 at Oregon).
Cali Jankowski proved to be one of the team’s secret weapons, primarily operating out of singles Court 4. Her 18 wins in singles was a team-high, and she ended the season a winner of 13 of her final 16 matches. She also paced the Sun Devils in singles wins throughout the postseason, with a 4-1 mark.
Turkovic and Gallagher were mainstays at the Nos. 2 and 3 positions, respectively, combining for 20 singles wins this spring.
Marianna Argyrokastriti was exactly the spark-plug the Sun Devils needed most ahead of their hot-streak to end the season. She missed eight matches (February 26-March 20) while nursing an ankle injury. When she returned to the starting lineup, however, she…
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