Upcoming Event: Women's Tennis at Colorado State Invite on September 12, 2025
Women's Tennis
at Colorado State Invite
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Friday, February 10
Salt Lake City, UT
2:00 PM
University of Utah
5
vs
2
Denver
Utah Women Down Denver 5-2
2/10/2023 5:16 PM | Women's Tennis
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah women's tennis team returned to action at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center for a match against the Denver Pioneers. After securing the doubles point the women dominated singles for final score 5-2.
"Gritty win against a good Denver team," said head coach Ric Morterra. "I was really proud of how the team competed today and I thought there were several highlights across the board. Samantha (Horwood) did a great job of making adjustments after the first set to ultimately set up the clinch. It was awesome to see Tattini executing at a high level again and Anastasia played a really clean match. The freshmen's impact continues to be felt and they are continuing to grow and improve. Townsend is getting closer to the level she expects of herself and today was a positive step in the right direction. I thought it was a great atmosphere out there and everyone had a hand in that. We are looking forward to getting preparations underway for Indiana."
The match began with a close doubles point. On court two, Samantha Horwood and Katya Townsend started off with a strong lead, but the Pioneer tandem took the upper hand, finishing 6-3. Soon after, the Utes took control on court three where Marcela Lopez and Kaila Barksdale downed Louise Wikander and Anastasia Simonov 6-4. With the doubles point on the line, the advantage came down to who would be victorious on court one. Utes, Anastasia Goncharova and Madison Tattini, faced a tough dual, but came out victorious in the end. They defeated the opposition 6-4, granting the Utes the first point of the match.
The match moved to singles and the Utes looked to dominate and started off strong on court five. Lopez defeated Claudia Martinez in a 7-5, 6-3 match. The team's third point came on court four as Goncharova downed Denver's Louise Wikander 6-3, 6-4.
Utah clinched the match on court six, where Horwood dropped the first set 6-3, but secured the following set 6-2 and swept Anastasia Simonov 6-0 for the victory in the third set. Denver secured their first point on court one, where Utah's Townsend played a tough match losing 7-5, 7-6(12-10).
The Pioneers' second and final point came on court three as Ute Kaila Barksdale dropped her match after three tough sets with final score 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 favoring Denver. Utah earned the fifth point of the match on court two as Tattini recovered the third set for a total score of 7-5, 3-6, 6-0.
UP NEXT
The Utah women will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 17 with a match against Indiana. The first serve will take place at 4 p.m. MT at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center.
UTAH, DENVER
Singles (5,4,6,1,3,2)
1. Taylor Melville (DEN) def. Katya Townsend (UTAH) 7-5, 7-6(12-10)
2. Madison Tattini (UTAH) def. Andrea Burguete (DEN) 7-5, 3-6, 6-0
3. Britt Pursell (DEN) def. Kaila Barksdale (UTAH) 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
4. Anastasia Goncharova (UTAH) def. Louise Wikander (DEN) 6-3, 6-4
5. Marcela Lopez (UTAH) def. Claudia Martinez (DEN) 7-5, 6-3
6. Samantha Horwood (UTAH) def. Anastasia Simonov (DEN) 3-6, 6-2, 6-0
Doubles (2,3,1)
1. Madison Tattini/Anastasia Goncharova (UTAH) def. Britt Pursell/Andrea Burguete (DEN) 6-4
2. Claudia Martinez/Taylor Melville (DEN) def. Samantha Horwood/Katya Townsend (UTAH) 6-3
3. Marcela Lopez/Kaila Barksdale (UTAH) def. Louise Wikander/Anastasia Simonov (DEN) 6-4
"Gritty win against a good Denver team," said head coach Ric Morterra. "I was really proud of how the team competed today and I thought there were several highlights across the board. Samantha (Horwood) did a great job of making adjustments after the first set to ultimately set up the clinch. It was awesome to see Tattini executing at a high level again and Anastasia played a really clean match. The freshmen's impact continues to be felt and they are continuing to grow and improve. Townsend is getting closer to the level she expects of herself and today was a positive step in the right direction. I thought it was a great atmosphere out there and everyone had a hand in that. We are looking forward to getting preparations underway for Indiana."
The match began with a close doubles point. On court two, Samantha Horwood and Katya Townsend started off with a strong lead, but the Pioneer tandem took the upper hand, finishing 6-3. Soon after, the Utes took control on court three where Marcela Lopez and Kaila Barksdale downed Louise Wikander and Anastasia Simonov 6-4. With the doubles point on the line, the advantage came down to who would be victorious on court one. Utes, Anastasia Goncharova and Madison Tattini, faced a tough dual, but came out victorious in the end. They defeated the opposition 6-4, granting the Utes the first point of the match.
The match moved to singles and the Utes looked to dominate and started off strong on court five. Lopez defeated Claudia Martinez in a 7-5, 6-3 match. The team's third point came on court four as Goncharova downed Denver's Louise Wikander 6-3, 6-4.
Utah clinched the match on court six, where Horwood dropped the first set 6-3, but secured the following set 6-2 and swept Anastasia Simonov 6-0 for the victory in the third set. Denver secured their first point on court one, where Utah's Townsend played a tough match losing 7-5, 7-6(12-10).
The Pioneers' second and final point came on court three as Ute Kaila Barksdale dropped her match after three tough sets with final score 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 favoring Denver. Utah earned the fifth point of the match on court two as Tattini recovered the third set for a total score of 7-5, 3-6, 6-0.
UP NEXT
The Utah women will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 17 with a match against Indiana. The first serve will take place at 4 p.m. MT at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center.
UTAH, DENVER
Singles (5,4,6,1,3,2)
1. Taylor Melville (DEN) def. Katya Townsend (UTAH) 7-5, 7-6(12-10)
2. Madison Tattini (UTAH) def. Andrea Burguete (DEN) 7-5, 3-6, 6-0
3. Britt Pursell (DEN) def. Kaila Barksdale (UTAH) 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
4. Anastasia Goncharova (UTAH) def. Louise Wikander (DEN) 6-3, 6-4
5. Marcela Lopez (UTAH) def. Claudia Martinez (DEN) 7-5, 6-3
6. Samantha Horwood (UTAH) def. Anastasia Simonov (DEN) 3-6, 6-2, 6-0
Doubles (2,3,1)
1. Madison Tattini/Anastasia Goncharova (UTAH) def. Britt Pursell/Andrea Burguete (DEN) 6-4
2. Claudia Martinez/Taylor Melville (DEN) def. Samantha Horwood/Katya Townsend (UTAH) 6-3
3. Marcela Lopez/Kaila Barksdale (UTAH) def. Louise Wikander/Anastasia Simonov (DEN) 6-4
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3,1
#1 Singles Match
12
Taylor Melville / 0 [DEN]
77
56
#2 Singles Match
123
Andrea Burguete / 0 [DEN]
560
736
#3 Singles Match
123
Britt Pursell / 0 [DEN]
656
372
#4 Singles Match
12
Louise Wikander / 0 [DEN]
34
66
#5 Singles Match
12
Claudia Martinez / 0 [DEN]
53
76
#6 Singles Match
123
Anastasia Simonov / 0 [DEN]
620
366
Order of Finish:
5,4,6,1,3,2
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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