USU Club Tennis goes undefeated at sectionals
The Utah State University Tennis Club went undefeated in their sectionals tournament on Feb. 15-16 in Las Vegas, bringing home a victory and advancing to nationals.
“We just went in and were kind of a dark horse. We all played really well,” said senior Alice Wilkinson.
Utah State set the tone early during pool play, opening with a strong victory in a cumulative team score of 26–18 over the University of Denver.
Elle Falslev and Wilkinson secured the first win for the Aggies in the female doubles match, finishing with a score of 6-5(4). Maximo Lawlor and Joseph Murray followed with a performance in the male doubles match, winning 6-4.
Hailey Miner represented the Aggies in the female singles match with a victory of 6-3. Jakob Fankhauser played in the male singles and lost with an ending score of 2-6. Thatcher Ellis and Bailey Huebner swept their competition in the mixed doubles match with an ending score of 6-0.
The Aggies followed that performance with a statement win against University of Nevada Las Vegas, scoring 30–1 as a team.
“We definitely struggled the least against them,” Murray said. “That was a really good match to just go out and just play solid tennis — not really have to do anything too risky.”
The Aggies furthered their success by defeating Colorado State University’s B team with a total team score of 29–11.
Falslev and Wilkinson started in the female doubles competition, falling 5-6(3). Lawlor and Murray then followed, winning 6-0 in the male doubles division.
Miner in the female singles division and Fankhauser in the male singles divisions both demonstrated dominance, winning with scores of 6-1 and 6-3, respectively.
Ellis and Huebner won the mixed doubles match for the Aggies, securing a perfect pool record and strong positioning heading into bracket play.
In the quarterfinals, Utah State faced the University of Wyoming and delivered another victory with 30–11.
Falslev and Wilkinson secured another win with a match score of 6-3 in the female doubles division. Lawlor and Murray in the male doubles division were victorious with a match score of 6-1.
Miner won her match in the female singles division with a score of 6-1, and Fankauser won his in the male singles division with a score of 6-2. Ellis and Huebner scored 6-4, securing the win in the mixed doubles division and leading to the Aggies advance to the semifinals.
In the semifinal matchup, the Aggies faced University of Colorado Boulder. Utah State battled through a tightly contested game, winning three of the six matches and ultimately emerging with a hard-fought 25–22 win.
“That was definitely our hardest match by far,” Murray said.
Murray said Miner, a first-year student, delivered a strong performance against CU Boulder with a match score of 6(4)-5 by a tiebreaker point in the female singles division.
“That was an incredible win for our team,” Murray said. “It was really incredible watching her play at such a high level.”
In the championship match, Utah State squared off against in-state rival University of Utah. The Aggies delivered a dominant 30–15 victory to cap off their undefeated tournament run.
Falslev and Wilkinson secured the first win with a match score of 6-3 in the female doubles division, followed by another win for the Aggies in Lawlor and Murray with 6-1 in the male doubles division.
Miner and Fankhauser demonstrated strength in the female and male singles divisions, both coming out on top with scores of 6-3 and 6-3. Ellis and Huebner brought in the victory for the Aggies with a tiebreaker point, winning the mixed doubles match with a score of 6(4)-5.
“It went pretty well,” Fankhauser said. “Utah State wasn’t expected to do as well as they did, which was good, so we could just kind of play and not really have any expectations over us.”
For Murray, the team has a solid lineup featuring several new players and first-year students this year.
“They’ve really elevated our level and made us upperclassmen really want to do better,” Murray said.
Murray said the team members plan to continue their hard work as they prepare for their advancement to nationals in April.
“I love this club, I love putting everything into it,” Murray said.
Nationals will be held April 16-18 in Washington, D.C.
“The job’s not done,” Fankhauser said.