Tennis team rallies for win at Weber
The Utah State women’s tennis team pulled out a 4-3 victory over Weber State after a couple close singles matches.
Both Courtney Anderson and Andrea Barker won their No. 4 and 5 singles matches in three sets to secure the win for the Aggies.
Both women dropped their first set, but were able to pull wins in their final two. Anderson won 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 and Barker won 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.
The Aggies were behind early in their singles matches as four of the six singles players lost the first set.
“They really hung in and fought through,” Utah State Head Coach Christian Wright said. “They did a phenomenal job focusing.”
Carolyn Stephens, playing at No. 3 singles, was down 5-0 in her first set but fought back to win 7-5. She went on to win her second set 6-4.
Jill Smith was the other singles player to win her first set as she handled Alexandra Ilie of Weber State 6-4, 6-2.
The Wildcats won the doubles point after winning at No. 1 and 2 doubles. Jill Smith and Lauren Monson won the No. 3 doubles for the Aggies 8-1.
The No. 1 doubles match was close but in the end, Lindsey Bennion and Carolyn Stephens weren’t able to pull it out. Weber State won 9-8.
After the initial shock of losing such a close match for the doubles point the Aggies regrouped.
“They forgot about it,” Wright said. “Every point was going to be big and it was going to be tight.
“We were able to pull the matches out. All of them had their challenges.”
The Aggies improved to 7-8 on the season after defeating a Weber State team that has beaten some of the teams the Aggies have lost to.
This weekend the tennis team travels to Boise to play in a tournament and will play against Boise State, Gonzaga and Lewis and Clark.
Wright said this win should help the Aggies chances this weekend.
He said he hopes the win will boost the team’s confidence and help them fix some problems the team has struggled with.
-krn@cc.usu.edu