No. 38 Utah Women's Tennis Blanks New Mexico

Sunday, February 24

Salt Lake City, Utah

11:00 AM

University of Utah

New Mexico

2/24/2013 12:00 AM | Women's Tennis

Feb. 24, 2013

Results

SALT LAKE CITY - The No. 38 University of Utah women's tennnis team (4-2) blanked New Mexico (2-4) Sunday at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center. Sophomore Natasha Smith captured the match deciding point for Utah at the No. 5 singles position.

"I was really happy with how we responded to yesterday's average performance," said head coach Mat Iandolo. "We played a team that was every bit as good as the team we played yesterday and we beat them soundly. I feel good about the way we played today."

The Utes started out the day with a dominant performance in doubles action. Juniors Sarah Pham and Callie Craig vanquished Sarah Mahboob Kahn and Michaela Oldani, 8-1 at the third slot.

At the No. 1 spot against Laura Richardson and Michaela Bezdicokva, 9th-ranked junior Paige Miles and sophomore Tereza Bekerova then fought off an early break to tie the match at 4-4 and proceeded to win five straight games, capturing their match 8-4 to clinch the doubles point.

With the doubles point in hand for Utah, Smith and junior Elena Najera-Salas bested Kristina Eggleston and Nikolina Grbac, 8-3, at the No. 2 position.

The Utes carried their winning momentum into singles play, winning all six matches in straight sets. No. 77 Bekerova routed Grbac, 6-1, 6-0 at the top spot, while Miles downed Katie Wookey, 6-0, 6-1, at the No. 6 slot, making the score 3-0 and setting up Smith for the match clincher.

Smith then bested Richardson, 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 5 position to clinch the match for the Utes at 4-0. Craig then posted yet another victory for Utah, topping Eggleston, 6-0, 6-2, at the third slot, while Salas defeated Khan, 6-2, 6-4 at the No. 4 spot, making the score 6-0.

Finally, after being down two breaks in the first set, 5-2, Pham broke back Bezdickova twice to stay alive and force a tie breaker, where she won 7-6. Then up 5-3 in the second set, Pham broke to win 6-3 and complete the sweep at 7-0 for Utah.

Utah next faces BYU in Provo, Utah, Saturday at 11 a.m. MT.

No. 38 Utah 7, New Mexico 0
Doubles:1. Bekerova/Miles def. Bezdickova/Richardson, 8-42. Smith/Salas def. Eggleston/Grbac, 8-33. Craig/Pham def. Khan/Oldani, 8-1Order: 3, 1, 2
Singles:1. Pham def. Bezdickova, 7-6, 6-32. Bekerova def. Grbac, 6-1, 6-03. Craig def. Eggleston, 6-0, 6-24. Salas def. Khan, 6-2, 6-35. Smith def. Richardson, 6-1, 6-16. Miles def. Wookey, 6-0, 6-1Order: 2, 6, 5, 3, 4, 1