Women’s Tennis heads south for rivalry dual against Arizona

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TEMPE  – Rounding up a three-match road trip, Sun Devil Women's Tennis (11-5, 6-2 Big 12) takes on in-state rival Arizona (15-7, 5-3 Big 12) at LaNelle Robson Tennis Center in Tucson.

The match is set for Saturday, March 27 at 12 p.m. MST and will be streamed on Playsight with live stats available on Sidearm and StatBroadcast.

Sun Devil Outlook:
No. 35 Arizona State (11-5)

• The Sun Devils hold a record of 43-12 against the Wildcats, including a nine-match winning streak dating back to April 2015. ASU swept Arizona in six of those nine matches.
• Freshman Aiya Nupbay earned her first ranked win over No. 104 Marcela Lopez for Oklahoma State last weekend. She moved to 4-0 on the season in singles.
• Senior Patricija Spaka is one win away from her 60th career singles victory. She is currently 38th all-time in career singles wins.
• Freshman Lily Taylor clinched the Sun Devils win against Kansas State last weekend with a comeback win 4-6, 6-0, 6-4. It was her first three set win as a Sun Devil.
• ASU holds a 10-3 record from the #2 spot in singles this season with Sara Svetac having a 5-1 record from the spot this year.

Opponent Outlook:
No. 39 Arizona (15-7)

• Arizona holds a 5-3 record in Big 12 Conference play.
• The Wildcats are coming off a three-match weekend against Kansas State, No. 45 Tulsa and No. 26 Oklahoma State. They went 1-2 in that stretch.
• Arizona is 12-1 at home this season and currently holds a seven-match home win streak.
• All seven of the Wildcats' losses have come to ranked opponents.
• Arizona boasts a 15-4 record from the #4 spot in singles this season.
• Josie Usereau is the team's top-ranked singles player boasting a 12-6 record this 2024-25 season and is No. 47 in the latest ITA rankings.

Last Time Out:
The Sun Devils lost their first match last weekend 4-1 to No. 26 Oklahoma State, but rallied on Sunday in a comeback win over Kansas State, 4-3. ASU overcame a 3-1 deficit against the Wildcats and moved to 6-2 in Big 12 Conference play this season. After dropping the opening set, Lily Taylor helped close out the victory for the Sun Devils with a comeback of her own, winning 4-6, 6-0, 6-4. Aiya Nupbay went 2-0 in singles over the weekend with two wins on court six.

IN THE RANKINGS:
The Sun Devils boast two players in the top 50 in the latest ITA Rankings which were updated on March 18. Emilija Tverijonaite is ranked 33rd in the country after an NCAA tournament appearance and is currently 9-4 on the year. Sara Svetac entered the top-50 at the end of the fall and is currently No. 49. The Sun Devils are one of two teams (Oklahoma State) in the Big 12 to have at least two singles players ranked in the top 50 in the ITA rankings.

The Sun Devil doubles pairs, Spaka and Taylor are No. 36 in the country after winning 10 of the last 13 double's matches.

MAGNIFICENT MILLIE:
Emilija Tverijonaite became the first Sun Devil to qualify for the NCAA Singles tournament since 2021 and went 12-2 during the fall season. The sophomore currently leads the team in singles wins at a 9-4 mark and helped clinch the win over Cincinnati and earned a bounce-back win in three sets against Kansas State. She is currently ranked No. 33 in the ITA rankings and has won three of the last four doubles matches. Tverijonaite is one of two Sun Devils with five singles wins on the team and owns a 5-2 record from the #1 spot.

SUPER SARA:
The Sophomore is currently 8-3 this season and has split time between the #1 and #2 spots in singles. She has a 5-1 record from the #2 spot this spring. Svetac was named Big 12 Player of the Week and earned a top-15 victory over Savannah Broadus of Pepperdine on Feb. 1. Svetac came off a successful fall season where she went 8-4 and is also 7-3 in doubles when paired with Karin Altori. 

The Croatian has had a successful sophomore campaign, earning a ranking in both singles and doubles throughout the spring.

SPARKY ON TOP:
The senior is currently 7-2 in singles after playing from the #3 spot this season. Additionally, she has won ten of her first 11 matches in doubles and racked up an 10-1 record in doubles alongside partner Lily Taylor. From Latvia, she currently sits at 59 career wins in singles and recently notched her 70th career double win. The duo aims to rebound this week as Spaka has 129 wins as a Sun Devil between singles and doubles matches combined in her four years.

NEW CONFERENCE, WHO THIS?
The Sun Devils were picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 Conference in the preseason poll announced on Jan. 7. The maroon and gold also picked up a first-place vote. Prior to joining the Big 12, the Sun Devils boasted a 24-11 record against Big 12 opponents. 

LOOKING AHEAD:
ASU continues Big 12 conference play with two matches at Whiteman Tennis Center next week. The Sun Devils take on TCU on Friday, April 4 at 4 p.m. AZT and Baylor on Sunday, April 6 at 12 p.m. AZT. Arizona State also celebrates Senior Day in Sunday's dual against the Bears.

HOW TO FOLLOW:
Continue to follow Sun Devil Women's Tennis on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook for all the latest coverage this season. Fans can follow on live stats which can be found here.