Aggie women halt losing streak, beat Montana 5-2
Hotly contested victories in both doubles and singles propelled the Utah State women’s tennis team to a break-out 5-2 win and halted a four-match skid.
Continuing a four-match home stand, the Aggies (3-6) picked up the victory Thursday against the University of Montana at the Sports Academy and Racquet Club in North Logan.
Utah State jumped out to the early lead by narrowly winning the doubles point with two tight victories.
“There were a lot of momentum changes in the doubles,” said USU Head Coach Chris Wright. “In a couple of them we were up, had a nice lead, but [the Aggies] didn’t give up, they kept fighting. There were a lot of ups and downs but they did a good job to get it done.”
Ahead 7-4 at No. 1 doubles, Aggies Caroline Pollock and Lindsey Bennion watched Montana’s duo of Michaela Zima and Kate Kohlschreiber win three straight games to tie the match at 7-7.
“There was a lull in the middle when they came back. I don’t know what it was,” Pollock said.
Holding their serve, the Aggies were able to break Montana and pick up the 9-7 win.
The No. 3 match ended in a similar way, with Jill Smith and Andrea Hansen defeating Grizzlies Ashild Fjeldheim and Jonna Schwartz 9-7.
Montana won an 8-5 victory at No. 2 as Annabelle Janairo and Lindsey Torgerson edged Carolyn Larsen and Haley Hawkins.
Using the momentum from doubles, the Aggies continued to roll in singles, winning four of the six matches.
At No. 1, Pollock dropped the first set 7-5, but came back to pick up the second, 6-4, and force a deciding third. She quickly jumped ahead 4-2, but, after appearing to go up 5-2, there was a dispute.
Pollock said she thought she had won the game, and Wright agreed, but after talking the points over with Zima, the game was continued with Pollock up 40-30.
Zima proceeded to double-fault on her serve, putting Pollock up 5-2.
“Luckily I got justice when she double-faulted,” Pollock said.
Zima was able to win two more games, but Pollock closed her out 6-4.
“[Pollock] mixed up her game a little bit, came in a little bit more,” Wright said. “She’s definitely got the serve-and-volley game and that’s a nice option to have. It definitely made a difference.”
In the No. 2 match, Larsen jumped ahead of Torgerson and won the first set 6-3, but quickly fell behind 3-0 in the second set.
Larsen said after winning the first set she relaxed, but soon realized that wasn’t going to work. Even being behind though, she said after watching her opponent make a comeback in the first set, she was confident she could as well.
“If she can do it, I for sure can do it,” Larsen said. “I just had that confidence, and I just made myself get lower and have a lot more footwork.”
Larsen then won six straight games for the 6-3 victory.
After falling behind, she said, “I was mad, but it was fuel for the fire, I think. I knew that I wanted to come back and I knew that I was. I felt that confidence, and it just helped me do it.”
Bennion picked up the most decisive win at No. 3 singles, a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Fjeldheim. Smith, playing up two spots, dropped a heartbreaker, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4, while Hawkins suffered the other Aggie defeat, a 6-2, 6-1 loss to Erin Cooney at No. 6
Shelly Ferguson picked up the other Utah State victory, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 5.
Finally picking up a victory will hopefully be a big boost for the team, Wright said.
“I hope so. I wish I could predict things like that,” he said. “It’s got to give us some confidence.”
With a quick turnaround, Utah State will be back in action Saturday when it hosts Gonzaga (2-11). The Aggies, who are 2-1 at home, will be looking to win back-to-back matches for the first time this season. And riding their victory, Aggie moral will be high, Pollock said.
“It was definitely time for a win. I think the team needed it for morale,” she said.
Saturday’s match begins at 1 p.m. at the Sports Academy.
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