Women's tennis hosts Sun Devils

Ryan A. Mihalyi Arizona Daily Wildcat UA junior Vicky Maes returned from the 1997 Rolex National Intercollegiate Indoor Tennis Championship in Dallas this weekend to play ASU today at 2 p.m. at Robson Tennis Center.

"Last year we beat them, but it's a different story this season because they have a couple new players and we have a few new players, too," sophomore Monique Allegre said.

The 16th-ranked Sun Devils (3-1 overall, 1-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference) are going to be taking on the fifth-ranked Wildcats at Robson Tennis Center this afternoon at 2.

In the last meeting Arizona (3-2, 0-2) beat the Sun Devils 5-1 at Robson on April 20. The win clinched second place for Arizona in the Pac-10.

This season, however, may prove to be a different story because the teams are more evenly matched this time around.

"Everybody needs to contribute and just go out and take care of their own court," UA head coach Becky Bell said. "We need to play well in doubles and it needs to be a total team effort."

The Sun Devils are led by senior Reka Cseresnyes, a two time All-American who is ranked 18th in the country. She is undefeated in dual match singles play with a 4-0 record.

Arizona is concentrating on its doubles play. Since the Wildcats opened the Pac-10 season almost two weeks ago they have a 2-4 doubles record.

"Anything can happen in an eight game pro set," said Allegre, Arizona's fifth seeded singles player. "So we have to have a really good start because it's so short."

Although the Wildcats have been on a nine-day layoff, Bell does not think that it will have a negative effect in today's match.

"I think we've had a real focused and energized week of practice and I think it'll be important," Bell said.

ASU beat San Diego State 8-1 when they last played on January 8.

"We just really need to come together as a team and really cheer each other on," Allegre said. "Since it's going to be such a good match, teamwork and focusing on every point are going to be big factors because they are out to get us, too."

All-American Vicky Maes was in Dallas, Texas over the weekend to participate in the 1997 Rolex National Intercollegiate Indoor Tennis Championships. Maes, a senior and Arizona's top-seeded player, lost last year in the championship match to Kansas' Kylie Hunt and was unable to reach the finals for a second time last weekend.

"I was expecting pretty good competition, which I got," Maes said. "Everybody's out there playing their best tennis and I'm hurting, but it was interesting to see what the competition is like."

She was defeated in the quarterfinals on Saturday by the tournament's top seed, Agnes Muzamel of Mississippi, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (5), a player she has beaten two times over her career. The match snapped Maes' seven-match winning streak.

"In the quarterfinals she was two points away from winning the long, hard-fought match," Bell said. "She got to play a couple different people and hopefully that will make the difference if she sees them at the individual nationals."

Maes has put the loss behind her and is eagerly awaiting Arizona's future matches.

"I am excited to play ASU and I'm not thinking about Dallas anymore," said Maes, the seventh-ranked player in the nation. "(Today) is what is important."