Utes to Host BYU and Two Pac-12 Matches for Senior Weekend

SALT LAKE CITY –The University of Utah women's tennis team will be back home at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center this week for three home matches. They will first face off against in-state rival Brigham Young (10-5, 3-1 WCC) on Wednesday for the Deseret Duel. The Utes will then host two Pac-12 conference matches this weekend, playing against No. 14 UCLA (12-4, 4-1 Pac-12) on Friday, followed by a match against No. 40 USC (9-6, 2-3 Pac-12) on Sunday to wrap up play for the weekend.

Utes to Recognize Seniors
This weekend will also be Senior Weekend, where the Utes will recognize the collegiate careers of four Utah women's tennis team members. Those recognized will be Jena Cheng, Alexia Petrovic, Margo Pletcher and Victoria Robertson, with the Senior Ceremonies to be held five minutes prior to the match against USC on Sunday.

Match Information vs. BYU
Date: Wednesday, April 4th
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Live Stream: http://utahutes.com/sports/2018/2/16/tennis-video-streaming.aspx
Results: http://utahutes.com/index.aspx?path=wten

Match Information vs. No. 14 UCLA
Date: Friday, April 6^th
Time: 1:30 p.m.
Live Stream: http://utahutes.com/sports/2018/2/16/tennis-video-streaming.aspx
Results: http://utahutes.com/index.aspx?path=wten

Match Information vs. No. 40 USC
Date: Sunday, April 8^th
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Live Stream: http://utahutes.com/sports/2018/2/16/tennis-video-streaming.aspx
Results: http://utahutes.com/index.aspx?path=wten

Utah Notes
In their most recent match, the Utes are coming off of a 0-4 loss against 49^thranked Washington. The Huskies got up early against the Utes by earning the doubles point. On the No. 1 court, Alexia Petrovic and Jena Cheng fell short to No. 32 Miki Kobayashi and Vanessa Wong, 1-6. Brianna Chisholm and Victoria Robertson were then defeated at the No. 3 spot by Stacy Fung and Katarina Kopcalic, 3-6, allowing Washington to win the doubles point. Then in singles, Chisholm was unable to card a victory at the No. 2 position against No. 62 Vanessa Wong, dropping the match with a score of 3-6, 0-6. On the No. 6 court, Robertson then fell to Washington's Katarina Kopcalic 1-6, 0-6. Then to clinch the match for the Huskies, Petrovic was unable to defeat No. 16 Stacy Fung at the No. 1 spot, as she fell to Fung with a score of 3-6, 0-6.

Opponent Notes
The BYU women's tennis team is coming off of a 4-2 victory over West Coast Conference opponent San Diego this past Saturday. Sophomores Kate Cusick and Polina got the Cougars off to a hot start in No. 2 doubles. The duo took on San Diego's Sophia Chow and Maria-Paula Torres and won the match 6-1. Then, senior Mayci Jones and freshman Anastasia Abrayan defeated San Diego's Nicole Anderson and Daniela Morales in No. 1 doubles. Malykh kept the Cougars rolling into singles as she competed in the No. 4 slot against the Toreros' Colomba DiFilippo, with a score of 6-3, 6-3. Jones competed against Anderson in No. 1 singles and extended BYU's lead. After a victory in the first set, Jones was able to stave off Anderson's comeback to win the match 6-1, 7-5. The deciding result came down to a tight battle between Cusick and San Deigo's Gemma Garcia in No. 5 singles. Cusick took a close first match, but Garcia roared back in the second to send the match to a third set. Garcia started the final set with a commanding 3-0 lead through the first three games, but Cusick overcame the deficit to win the match 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 and give BYU the 4-2 victory over San Diego.

This will be UCLA's first match since March 25^thagainst the University of Washington, where they defeated the Huskies with a score of 4-0. Shibahara-Miller continued its domination of conference opponents, improving its Pac-12 record to 5-0 with a 6-0 sweep of Stacey Fung-Katarina Kopcalic on Court 3. The Bruin duo has also won eight straight overall. With the top court's ranked matchup locked in a close one, UCLA's team of Ayan Broomfield-Abi Altick took matters into its own hands, dominating Kenadi Hance-Alexis Prokopuik on Court 2, 6-1, to clinch the doubles point. Like doubles play, the Bruins were largely unblemished in singles play. Bruins Miller and Kristin Wiley playing next to each other on Courts 5 and 6, went shot for shot to see you would finish first. Miller would cross the finish line first, extending her personal winning streak to eight matches without losing a set. She topped Katarina Kopcalic, 6-1, 6-0. Then, making her first appearance since the dual-match opener, Wiley matched Miller, defeating Angela Li with a 6-1, 6-0 win of her own. Fleming would drop just two games, both in the first set with Washington's Prokopuik on Court 3. The Bruin senior sped through the second set, though, securing the match-clinching win with a 6-2, 6-0 beating of her counterpart.

This will also be USC's first match since defeating the University of Washington on March 24^th, coming away with a victory of 4-3. The Trojans entered singles with a one-point deficit, dropping the point to Washington. The Huskies rolled with their momentum as #62 Vanessa Wong defeated USC's Rianna Valdes 6-3, 6-0 on court two. The Trojans began to find their groove as Constane Branstine took down Washington's Alexis Prokopuik 6-1, 6-2 on court four for a USC point. Over on court six, USC's Alexa Corcoleotes whipped up an important win with her swift 6-1, 6-3 victory over Katarina Kopcalic to tie up the overall match score at 2-2. Trojan Madison Westbyset USC up for victory with her 6-4, 6-3 win over Miki Kobayashi on court three. The Huskies fired back with a win on court five as Kenadi Hance defeated USC's Sydney Van Alphen 6-3, 6-2. Now with the overall match score at 3-3, all the attention in Marks Stadium turned to court one where USC's No. 57 Gabby Smith was locked in battle against Washington's No. 16 Stacey Fung. After claiming the first set 6-4, Smith dropped the second set 6-1 to Fung. An intense deciding third set ensued where games were exchanged back and forth. Smith came out on top as she claimed the final set 7-5 to clinch the match for the Women of Troy.

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Players Mentioned

Jena Cheng

Brianna Chisholm

Alexia Petrovic

Margo Pletcher

Victoria Robertson