Utah State’s Davis wins tournament

For the first time ever, a Utah State tennis player won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Mountain Region Championship. Aggie McKenzie Davis and Ute Tereza Beckerova met up in the tournament finals at the University of New Mexico Sunday.

“This was truly a special moment in the history of Utah State tennis,” said USU head coach Sean McInerney. “McKenzie has worked so hard over the years and it all came together this week. I couldn’t be prouder of the way she played and the class she conducted herself with.”

Her first-time tournament title also earned her a berth into the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, marking the first time an Aggie will compete in the event.

Davis’s Saturday opponent Beckerova was ranked number 76 in the nation and had the overall number one seed going into the tournament. Davis, a senior at Utah state won the match in three sets, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6.

On her road to the championship Davis enjoyed a first round bye and then defeated University of New Mexico’s Susan Baklini 6-1, 6-2 in straight sets Thursday. Friday she defeated Jena Chang from the University of Utah 6-2, 6-2.

“She has been working very hard on a style of play that gives here the best opportunity to win big matches and that work has paid off,” McInerney said.

Saturday Davis played two in two matches. In three sets she defeated UNM’s Emily Olivier 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Later on she faced another in-state opponent in BYU’s Mayci Jones and won in two sets, 6-2, 1-0, after Jones was forced to retire early.

“She beat back-to-back very good players, and we are excited not only for her, but for our program,” said McInerney after Davis advanced to the finals Saturday.

The national tournament will be held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis center in Flushing Meadows, New York, starting Nov. 6 and wrapping up on Nov. 9.