Tough Break for tennis teams
It was a tough Spring Break for Utah State’s men’s and women’s tennis teams in California last week.
Although the men started out strong, defeating Westmont College 7-0 on March 10 in their first shutout match of the season, they were unable to keep up their momentum as they dropped their next two matches against Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara.
The women struggled in all their matches for the week. They were shut out against Cal Poly on Wednesday March 11 and dropped two other matches to Santa Barbara and Pacific 6-1 on Saturday and Sunday.
“They were a little more comfortable [with the altitude] than we were,” said Utah State Head Coach Chris Wright. “The effort was there and the points were very hard-fought.”
Hannes Schenk won his fourth-straight singles match as he defeated Westmont College’s Bryn Mercado 6-2, 6-0 at the number three singles spot. Schenk also won his doubles match with partner Roshan Rasekhi 8-2.
Hungsoon Park won at the number one singles spot, defeating Thommas de Liefde 6-2, 6-4. At number two singles, Westmont College’s Tony Larson was defeated 7-6, 7-6 by Rasekhi.
Aggie Jason Trask improved his singles play record to 15-5 for the year as he defeated Westmont’s Chris Mark 6-3, 6-1. Trask also teamed up with Park for a win in doubles play and the doubles point.
Ryan Bair and Tyler Bastian defeated their Westmont opponents John Hilp and J.B. Schiller.
“It was a good match,” Wright said. “I think we had more depth overall on our lineup.”
The USU men and women both struggled as they faced Cal Poly on Thursday March 11. The men lost 5-2 while the women fell 7-0.
Schenk’s winning streak was ended as he was defeated by Cal Poly’s Matt Baca 6-2, 6-7, 6-4.
Trask and Park were the only Aggies to win against CP. Playing at the number one singles, Park defeated John Nguyen 6-2, 7-5. Trask was able to take down Davey Jones 3-6, 7-6, 6-1.
The loss was only the third loss in the last nine matches for the men’s team.
After winning three consecutive matches, the women’s tennis team fell hard to Cal Poly.
The only win of the day came during doubles play as Aggies Lindsay Bennion and Carolyn Stephens defeated a Cal Poly duo at the number one doubles spot. After that the Aggies had a tough time coming up with points.
The Aggie women fared better against UC Santa Barbara on March 13, coming up with a win in singles play.
The Bennion-Stephens combo once again played well in doubles, winning their match for the second time in a row 8-4.
Stephens and Park were the only Aggies with wins in singles play against UCSB. Stephens defeated the Gaucho’s Kristen Wilson 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 at the number five singles spot. Park, playing at number one singles, picked up his fourth-consecutive win in singles play with a victory over Alex Anselme 6-1, 6-2.
The Aggie women finished out the week on Sunday with a match against Pacific. Although they fought hard, they were unable to come up with a win and fell 6-1.
The lone win of the day came at the number one singles position from Bennion as she defeated the Tigers’ Katherina Heil 7-6, 7-6.
The Aggies will continue play as the women face Northern Arizona at home on March 27. The men will have a break until they travel to Idaho to face Boise and Gonzaga on April 3 and 4.
-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu