Aggies lose all matches in day one of WAC tournament
Disappointing.
That’s the word head coach Chris Wright used to describe the Utah State women’s tennis team post-season loss in Las Cruces, N.M., Thursday. Competing in the Western Athletic Conference championship tournament the No. 6 seed Aggies faced off against the No. 3 seed University of Idaho Vandals. USU was sent home with a 0-4 loss.
“We got down in doubles, and they were just a little sharper than we were,” Wright said. “After the loss, I said, ‘Guys, we have done this before, we have been in this situation a few times and come back for the win.'”
The Aggies were fired up heading into doubles action, but the Vandals swiftly extinguished them.
Senior Romina Nedakovic and junior Kristina Voytsekovich were defeated by Molly Knox and Sophie Vickers 3-8 in the No. 2 doubles position.
Co-captain Brianna Rowland and junior Julie Tukuafu were dismissed by Alejandra Lozano and Beatriz Flores 8-3 in the No. 3 doubles position to give Idaho the doubles point.
Junior Jaci West’s and freshman McKenzie Davis’ match at No. 1 doubles was left unfinished at 4-6 with the two other doubles losses.
“Last year it was 4-3 loss when we played them,” Rowland, a senior, said. “But we definitely thought this is a team that we can beat.”
But the Aggies were unable to slow the Vandals down. They quickly dropped three matches to give the victory to Idaho. The three completed matches were all straight set losses for the USU.
Heading into the tournament, Rowland said the team’s morale was high.
“We have had good wins during the season, we hadn’t played Idaho yet, but we felt that we could do this, and this is a good draw,” Rowland said. “It just didn’t pan out to what we thought here at the WAC tournament.”
Davis lost to Victoria Lozano, 5-7, 3-6 in the No. 1 singles position.
Voytsekovich was promptly dismissed by Knox 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 3 singles position
The nail in the coffin came from Tukuafu against Alejandra Lorenzo in the No. 5 singles spot. The Vandal held Tukuafu to four games total in her 6-2, 6-2 win.
“We were still in a few matches when the four points was reached, so it kind of stinks that you don’t get a final result,” Wright said. “It is kind of a weird feeling. But it’s the rules; everyone has to go by it.”
With the win already secured by three Aggie losses and the doubles point loss, the rest of the matches were left unfinished. According to tournament rules, once the win has been secured play is stopped, no matter where the other matches may be in score.
“I’m proud of them, we have had some good wins, today just wasn’t our day,” Wright said. “Overall it was a good season, we are proud of the girls.”
– mega.bodi@aggiemail.usu.edu