SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah women's tennis team returned to action with a 4-1 against the No. 16 Washington Huskies to open the weekend of play.
HEAD COACH RIC MORTERA SAID
"So incredibly proud of the team and their resiliency. We have had a lot of things not go our way this year, but they just keep on working, that is what I am most proud of. This team will keep fighting and giving everything they have and that's all I can ask for. We will rest up and enjoy this today, then back to work tomorrow in preparation for Senior Day".
The squad quickly secured the doubles point to gain the advantage in the match. On court three,
Marcela Lopez and
Kaila Barksdale defeated the Husky duo 6-1. Soon after
Madison Tattini and
Anastasia Goncharova also downed the Washington tandem 6-3, awarding the Utes their first point.
Samantha Horwood and
Katya Townsend were leading 5-3 on court two but their match was unfinished.
As the match moved to singles, the Utes faced some challenges. At the No. 2 spot, Tattini defeated Washington's Sarah-Maude Fortin 6-1, 7-5. On court six, Horwood fell 7-6(7-2), 6-1 to Husky Erika Matsuda.
Utah's next point came at the No. 4 spot as Goncharova had an incredible comeback after an 11-9 tiebreaker in the first set. She secured the second set 6-4 and placed the team at a 3-1 advantage.
The winning point was from Lopez on court five after finishing the first set 6-3 and securing the victory after a 7-4 tiebreaker for the second set.
Townsend and Barksdale were also in tiebreaker sets but their matches were unfinished.
UP NEXT
The squad will close out the weekend of play this Sunday, Apr. 9 with a match against Washington State. The first serve will take place at 10:30 a.m. MT at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center.
UTAH 4, #16 WASH 1
Singles (2,6,4,5)
1.
Katya Townsend (UTAH) vs Hikaru Sato (UW) 6-3, 6-7(4-7), unf.
2.
Madison Tattini (UTAH) def. Sarah-Maude Fortin (UW) 6-1, 7-5
3.
Kaila Barksdale (UTAH) vs Astrid Olsen (UW) 3-6, 6-6 (3-3), unf.
4.
Anastasia Goncharova (UTAH) def. Jennifer Kerr (UW) 7-6(11-9), 6-4
5.
Marcela Lopez (UTAH) def. Melissa Sakar (UW) 6-3, 7-6(7-4)
6. Erika Matsuda (UW) def.
Samantha Horwood (UTAH) 7-6
Doubles (3,1)
1.
Madison Tattini/
Anastasia Goncharova (UTAH) def. Hikaru Sato/Zehra Suko (UW) 6-3
2.
Samantha Horwood/
Katya Townsend (UTAH) vs Astrid Olsen/Jennifer Kerr (UW) 5-3, unf.
3.
Marcela Lopez/
Kaila Barksdale (UTAH) def. Sarah-Maude Fortin/Erika Matsuda (UW) 6-1