Upcoming Event: Women's Tennis at Colorado State Invite on September 12, 2025
Women's Tennis
at Colorado State Invite
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Wednesday, October 18
SLC, UT
University of Utah
vs
ITA Regionals
Photo by: Liv Medivitz/Utah Athletics
Utah Competes at High Level In ITA Mountain Regionals
10/22/2023 6:10 PM | Women's Tennis
Utah women's tennis welcomed competitors from over 20 schools at the ITA Regionals over the weekend. Several Utes found success and put up strong performances.
"A good step forward for a lot of our players this weekend," said head coach Ric Mortera. "I am proud of Marcela [Lopez] and her awesome run to the finals. She has certainly been growing in her game and learned some valuable lessons this week that should set her up well for the future.
"Emma picking up her first college title this early in her time here is definitely something that should add confidence in her young career," Mortera added. "We are looking forward to see how she can build off of it. Kaila has been a model of consistency and although I know she is disappointed with how it ended, it was another good showing and I believe it is only a matter of time before she takes another step forward in her career.
"It was great to be able to see everyone compete and there is much to be excited about," Mortera continued. "I was especially happy with how the seniors were working to set the tone for the environment we were creating for this tournament. There were plenty more positives and great experiences we had throughout the week and we will continue to get to work on making strides forward this fall."
Marcela Lopez carved a triumphant path to the finals in the main draw. Lopez kicked off the weekend with a dominant victory over Air Force's Arianna VanHouweling 6-2, 6-0. She continued her streak in the round of 32, where she defeated BYU's Kendall Kovick 6-3, 6-0.
Lopez fought through a tiebreak in the round of 16 to collect another victory over Denver's Anastacia Simonov 6-2, 7-6 (3), advancing her to the quarterfinals. In the quarter finals secured another victory, effortlessly overcoming Elys Ventura from Colorado, with a dominant 6-0, 6-3 scoreline.
Entering the semifinals, Lopez was up against a formidable opponent, the No.1 seed Yujia Huang from BYU, who had defeated her teammate Katherine Lyman in the round of 16.. Despite the tough matchup, Lopez fought valiantly, pushing the match to a decisive third set. She ultimately emerged victorious, defeating Huang 3-6, 7-5, 6-1, and secured her spot in the finals.
With the semifinal victory, Lopez also earned a spot in the ITA Fall Nationals Tournament.
After an intense final, Lopez narrowly missed claiming the regional title, succumbing to Noesjka Brink from Wyoming with a 6-4, 4-6, 3-6 defeat.
Kaila Barksdale made an impressive run to the semifinals in the main singles draw, beginning with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep over Northern Arizona's Ava Neyestani. She maintained her momentum, dispatching Boise State's Shauna Heffernan 6-2, 6-1 in the round of 32 and Denver's Caroline Driscoll 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the round of 16.
Barksdale's winning streak continued as she overcame Nevada's Amahee Charrier 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. However, her journey came to an end with a 1-6, 3-6 defeat to Wyoming's Brink in a challenging semifinal match.
Lyman also notched two wins in the main singles draw. She first overcame Colorado State's Zara Lennon with a solid 6-3, 6-3 performance, before defeating Northern Arizona's Patrycja Niewiadomska 6-0, 7-5. In the round of 16, Lyman facedBYU's top-seeded Yujia Huang. She fought hard, pushing the match to an intense third set, but ultimately fell with a 6-4, 4-6, 3-6 scoreline.
Sara Akid found victory in the first round of the main draw, taking down Paula Dougherty from Montana State 6-4, 6-4. Akid fell just short to Nevada's Salsa Aher 6-2, 4-6, 3-6 in the round of 32.
Also in the main draw, Yuhan Liu claimed a first round win against Air Force's Gia Sanchirico 7-6 (5), 6-1. She then accepted defeat to Denver's Andrea Beltran 4-6, 3-6.
In the singles B draw, Emma Kamper found success, going on to win the finals. Kamper started off with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Asem Shoybek from Idaho State . She then defeated Montana's Maria Goheen 7-6 (2), 6-1. Kamper continued her triumph against Weber State's Sydney Schnell, winning 6-1, 6-2. In the quarterfinals she took down Utah State's Indya Nespor 6-3, 6-4 and found herself advancing to the semifinals.
Kamper kept up the momentum, defeating BYU's Kara Wheatley 6-4, 6-4, to claim a spot in the final. She fought hard to force a third set and claimed her regional B-Draw title over Wiem Boubaker from Nevada 1-6, 6-1, 7-5.
Ana Cruz tasted success, advancing to the quarterfinals in the B-Draw. Cruz claimed a first round victory over Nevada's Lea Cakarevic 6-2, 6-1. She then took down Bhakti Shah from Boise State. Cruz defeated Idaho State's Lola O'Lideadha 2-6, 6-0, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinal battle, Cruz fell to Hailey Murphy from Montana 4-6, 1-6.
Isabella Pitchford also claimed a first round victory over Idaho State's Sydney Morris 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (6). Pitchford then succumbed to Ellen Puzak from Colorado 2-6, 3-6.
In the doubles draw, Akid and Cruz made a run to the quarterfinals. The two Utes started off with a victory over Ava Neyestani and Dolavee Tumthong from Northern Arizona 8-3. The duo continued their triumph over El Paso's Veronika Lebinsova and Carlotta Mencaglia 8-1.
Cruz and Akid then defeated No. 2 seed Leonie Hoppe and Katherine Jhang from New Mexico 8-3 to advance to the quarterfinals. The pair fought hard against the No.7 seed Andrea Beltran and Britt Pursell from Denver, falling in a 6-8 defeat.
Lopez and Lyman also collected a couple doubles victories, defeating Nevada's Wiem Boubaker and Anastasia Luneva 8-3 in the first round. The duo then tallied another win against Aura Fang and Nikol Mircheva from UNLV 8-2, before falling to another UNLV duo, Salsa Aher and Zita Kovacs, 8-7(5).
Samantha Horwood and Kamper also clinched a victory in the first round. They overcame Anya Nelson and Carri Hayes from Colorado with an 8-4 scoreline. However, the Utes duo met their match in the second round, falling to the No. 3 seed pair from Boise State, Nicole Discenza and Lorelyz Marruffo, 8-6.
UP NEXT
Utah is set to go to Texas A&M Nov. 3-5 before wrapping up the fall season at the UNLV Invite Nov.10-12
"A good step forward for a lot of our players this weekend," said head coach Ric Mortera. "I am proud of Marcela [Lopez] and her awesome run to the finals. She has certainly been growing in her game and learned some valuable lessons this week that should set her up well for the future.
"Emma picking up her first college title this early in her time here is definitely something that should add confidence in her young career," Mortera added. "We are looking forward to see how she can build off of it. Kaila has been a model of consistency and although I know she is disappointed with how it ended, it was another good showing and I believe it is only a matter of time before she takes another step forward in her career.
"It was great to be able to see everyone compete and there is much to be excited about," Mortera continued. "I was especially happy with how the seniors were working to set the tone for the environment we were creating for this tournament. There were plenty more positives and great experiences we had throughout the week and we will continue to get to work on making strides forward this fall."
Marcela Lopez carved a triumphant path to the finals in the main draw. Lopez kicked off the weekend with a dominant victory over Air Force's Arianna VanHouweling 6-2, 6-0. She continued her streak in the round of 32, where she defeated BYU's Kendall Kovick 6-3, 6-0.
Lopez fought through a tiebreak in the round of 16 to collect another victory over Denver's Anastacia Simonov 6-2, 7-6 (3), advancing her to the quarterfinals. In the quarter finals secured another victory, effortlessly overcoming Elys Ventura from Colorado, with a dominant 6-0, 6-3 scoreline.
Entering the semifinals, Lopez was up against a formidable opponent, the No.1 seed Yujia Huang from BYU, who had defeated her teammate Katherine Lyman in the round of 16.. Despite the tough matchup, Lopez fought valiantly, pushing the match to a decisive third set. She ultimately emerged victorious, defeating Huang 3-6, 7-5, 6-1, and secured her spot in the finals.
With the semifinal victory, Lopez also earned a spot in the ITA Fall Nationals Tournament.
After an intense final, Lopez narrowly missed claiming the regional title, succumbing to Noesjka Brink from Wyoming with a 6-4, 4-6, 3-6 defeat.
Kaila Barksdale made an impressive run to the semifinals in the main singles draw, beginning with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep over Northern Arizona's Ava Neyestani. She maintained her momentum, dispatching Boise State's Shauna Heffernan 6-2, 6-1 in the round of 32 and Denver's Caroline Driscoll 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the round of 16.
Barksdale's winning streak continued as she overcame Nevada's Amahee Charrier 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. However, her journey came to an end with a 1-6, 3-6 defeat to Wyoming's Brink in a challenging semifinal match.
Lyman also notched two wins in the main singles draw. She first overcame Colorado State's Zara Lennon with a solid 6-3, 6-3 performance, before defeating Northern Arizona's Patrycja Niewiadomska 6-0, 7-5. In the round of 16, Lyman facedBYU's top-seeded Yujia Huang. She fought hard, pushing the match to an intense third set, but ultimately fell with a 6-4, 4-6, 3-6 scoreline.
Sara Akid found victory in the first round of the main draw, taking down Paula Dougherty from Montana State 6-4, 6-4. Akid fell just short to Nevada's Salsa Aher 6-2, 4-6, 3-6 in the round of 32.
Also in the main draw, Yuhan Liu claimed a first round win against Air Force's Gia Sanchirico 7-6 (5), 6-1. She then accepted defeat to Denver's Andrea Beltran 4-6, 3-6.
In the singles B draw, Emma Kamper found success, going on to win the finals. Kamper started off with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Asem Shoybek from Idaho State . She then defeated Montana's Maria Goheen 7-6 (2), 6-1. Kamper continued her triumph against Weber State's Sydney Schnell, winning 6-1, 6-2. In the quarterfinals she took down Utah State's Indya Nespor 6-3, 6-4 and found herself advancing to the semifinals.
Kamper kept up the momentum, defeating BYU's Kara Wheatley 6-4, 6-4, to claim a spot in the final. She fought hard to force a third set and claimed her regional B-Draw title over Wiem Boubaker from Nevada 1-6, 6-1, 7-5.
Ana Cruz tasted success, advancing to the quarterfinals in the B-Draw. Cruz claimed a first round victory over Nevada's Lea Cakarevic 6-2, 6-1. She then took down Bhakti Shah from Boise State. Cruz defeated Idaho State's Lola O'Lideadha 2-6, 6-0, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinal battle, Cruz fell to Hailey Murphy from Montana 4-6, 1-6.
Isabella Pitchford also claimed a first round victory over Idaho State's Sydney Morris 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (6). Pitchford then succumbed to Ellen Puzak from Colorado 2-6, 3-6.
In the doubles draw, Akid and Cruz made a run to the quarterfinals. The two Utes started off with a victory over Ava Neyestani and Dolavee Tumthong from Northern Arizona 8-3. The duo continued their triumph over El Paso's Veronika Lebinsova and Carlotta Mencaglia 8-1.
Cruz and Akid then defeated No. 2 seed Leonie Hoppe and Katherine Jhang from New Mexico 8-3 to advance to the quarterfinals. The pair fought hard against the No.7 seed Andrea Beltran and Britt Pursell from Denver, falling in a 6-8 defeat.
Lopez and Lyman also collected a couple doubles victories, defeating Nevada's Wiem Boubaker and Anastasia Luneva 8-3 in the first round. The duo then tallied another win against Aura Fang and Nikol Mircheva from UNLV 8-2, before falling to another UNLV duo, Salsa Aher and Zita Kovacs, 8-7(5).
Samantha Horwood and Kamper also clinched a victory in the first round. They overcame Anya Nelson and Carri Hayes from Colorado with an 8-4 scoreline. However, the Utes duo met their match in the second round, falling to the No. 3 seed pair from Boise State, Nicole Discenza and Lorelyz Marruffo, 8-6.
UP NEXT
Utah is set to go to Texas A&M Nov. 3-5 before wrapping up the fall season at the UNLV Invite Nov.10-12
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