USU tennis makes clean sweep of Dixie State
USU women’s tennis swept Dixie State 7-0 Friday, Feb. 16 at the Sports Academy to improve to 3-4 on the season.
In recording the sweep against the Division-II Rebels, the Aggies only gave up two games in singles match play and four games in doubles play.
Leading the way for USU in the No. 1 singles match was senior Courtney Anderson. She won in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0, and has won six of her last seven matches. An impressive point about Anderson’s wins is that they are coming while she plays with a hurt wrist.
“My wrist is just bothering me; I can barely hit a first serve,” Anderson said.
Playing hurt has gained praise from Head Coach Christian Wright.
“She is amazingly tough. Almost every time she hits a ball, it’s painful,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for her.”
Erin Monson, Lauren Monson and Bridgette Strickland all shut out their opponents to win in straight sets 6-0, 6-0, while Brianna Harris and Dee-Dee Nelson won their singles matches 6-0, 6-1.
“We are all doing good. They’re not quite to the level that we are, and it is really easy to slip down and play at their level. I think we are doing good at keeping up and not sinking down to their game,” Anderson said.
Dixie State was competing in its first ever collegiate match. The program just started up, and they will be competing at the Division-II level.
Wright told his team not to overlook the Rebels because it was their first official competition.
“I always tell the players because I have learned the hard way never to underestimate anybody,” Wright said. “I have a lot of respect for their team. It is a new young team, and I know what that is like because I felt like when I started here many years ago that we were like that.”
Aggie senior Lauren Monson agrees.
“It’s their very first match, first year. It always takes a while to get a program rolling, but it seams like they’re pretty organized,” she said.
Monson and her sister Erin, a freshman, competed in the No. 1 doubles spot for USU. Needing to win eight games to win in the doubles competition, the Monsons beat Dixie’s top tandem 8-1.
Brianna Harris, playing with Courtney Anderson, won 8-2, and Bridgette Strickland, paired with Britney Watts, won 8-1.
The match was a good opportunity for the Aggie players to work on different skills that needed improvement.
“We just told the girls to play their game and if there was an area that they wanted to work on, or we gave them some things to work on. It may be a good opportunity to do that,” Wright said.
Next up for the Aggie women will be Weber State at home on Thursday, Feb. 22.
-samabry@cc.usu.edu