No. 25 Sun Devils Fall to Ducks in Back-and-Forth Affair, 4-3

EUGENE, Ore. – Back and forth they went, with the Sun Devils and Ducks exchanging punches all Sunday afternoon at the Student Tennis Center in Eugene.

Three ties and four lead changes later, the No. 25 Sun Devils (8-6, 1-4) were ultimately edged by the Ducks, 4-3, as the match was decided with a thriller on Court 1.

It's the Sun Devils' first loss against the Ducks since March 25, 2018, and just their second loss in Eugene since 2000.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Sun Devils took care of business in the early going, capturing the doubles point with wins on Courts 2 & 3.

Cali Jankowski and Natasha Hill got the better of Oregon's Misaka Kobayashi & Ares Teixido Garcia, 6-2, on Court 3. Sedona Gallagher & Giulia Morlet grinded out a 6-4 win on Court 2 over Allison Mulville & Myah Petchey moments later.

On Court 1, the No. 56 ranked Patricija Spaka & Domenika Turkovic were nearing a victory over Sophie Luescher & Uxia Martinez Moral, 5-4, before play was abandoned due to the Sun Devils sealing the doubles point.

Needing to split three of six singles matches to secure a win, the Sun Devils would struggle to put away the Ducks, as each team would win two of the first four contests.

Natasha Hill fell on Court 6, 6-0, 6-1, to Uxia Martinez Moral to even the match at 1-1. Cali Jankowski helped the Sun Devils reclaim the lead when she breezed through Lillian Mould on Court 4, 6-2, 6-1.

Domenika Turkovic was bested on Court 2, 6-1, 6-1, to Myah Petched, which evened the match once more, 2-2.

A win by Sedona Gallagher (def. Ares Teixido Garcia, 6-2, 6-2) and the first loss of Patricija Spaka's collegiate career (6-4, 7-5 to Karin Young) deadlocked the contest at 3-3.

It all came down to Court 1, where Giulia Morlet was engaged in a battle with Sophie Leuscher. Morlet won the first set 7-5, but fell in the remaining two, 6-4, 6-3.

UP NEXT
The Sun Devils' gauntlet of a road trip, which included stops in Los Angeles to see top-ranked USC and UCLA plus Sunday's visit to Eugene has finally concluded. Sheila McInerney's group is elated to return to the Whiteman Tennis Center for a four-match homestand, beginning March 26-27 with Rice and Ohio State, respectively.

Both matches will begin at 12 p.m. MST. Fans can tune into the action via the ASU Live Stream or choose to follow along with live stats, as both will be made available prior to the start of each contest.