Northwestern
Arizona State
Larner Knocks Off First Ranked Opponent During ITA Kick-Off
1/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
EVANSTON, Ill. - A late Northwestern rally fell just short as the Wildcats dropped the season opener 4-3 to No. 32 Arizona State in the first round of ITA Kick-Off Weekend.
17th-ranked Northwestern clawed back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the match at three but Alicia Barnett could not overcome the efforts of No. 37 Desirae Krawczyk in the final frame to complete the comeback.
Arizona State jumped out to an early advantage in doubles play with Smith and Jump picking up a 6-0 win at No. 2 over Leung and Rheeya Doshi. Barnett and Peri fought back from an early deficit at the first doubles spot and won, 6-4, to tie doubles play at one.
The deciding match came down to No. 3, where Chatt and Brooke Rischbieth were paired up against Panoho and Osborne. Chatt and Rischbieth battled back from an early 5-2 deficit to tie the match at five. The Sun Devils would not be denied, though, and scored the next two tightly contested points to claim the match and the doubles point.
Erin Larner wasted little time in getting the `Cats on the board in singles play. The freshman matched up against 62nd-ranked Ebony Panoho in the fourth singles spot and knocked off her first ranked opponent in a dual match with a 6-3, 6-0 decision.
After a pair of tough losses at spots No. 2 and 3 by Manon Peri and Lok Sze Leung, respectively, freshman Alex Chatt got behind 3-0 early in the first set in her match against Joanna Smith but battled back to win the set, 7-5. Chatt and Smith matched each other point for point through the second set, but Chatt pulled away at the end for another 7-5 decision.
With Arizona State clinging to a 3-2 advantage, Jillian Rooney and Barnett were mounting comebacks in their respective matches. Rooney and Alexandra Osborne played three close sets at No. 6. Rooney won the first 7-5, dropped the second by the same margin and trailed 5-2 in the third and deciding set. With the crowd behind her, Rooney scored five consecutive points to win the match and tie the team score at three. Shortly after, Krawczyk scored the winner over Barnett to claim the match for the Sun Devils.
Northwestern will play either No. 21 Rice or No. 44 Kentucky Sunday morning at 10 a.m. inside the Combe Tennis Center.
Results
Singles
No. 1 - #37 Desirae Krawczyk (ASU) def. Alicia Barnett (NU), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 - Stephanie Vlad (ASU) def. Manon Peri (NU), 6-4, 6-3
No. 3 - Kassidy Jump (ASU) def. Lok Sze Leung (NU), 6-2, 7-5
No. 4 - Erin Larner (NU) def. #62 Ebony Panoho (ASU), 6-3, 6-0
No. 5 - Alex Chatt (NU) def. Joanna Smith (ASU), 7-5, 7-5
No. 6 - Jillian Rooney (NU) def. Alexandra Osborne (ASU), 7-5, 5-7, 7-5
Order of Finish: 4, 2, 3, 5, 6, 1*
Doubles
No. 1 - Barnett/Peri (NU) def. Krawczyk/Vlad (ASU), 6-4
No. 2 - Smith/Jump (ASU) def. Leung/Doshi (NU), 6-0
No. 3 - Panoho/Osborne (ASU) def. Chatt/Rischbieth (NU), 7-5
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3*
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