Women’s tennis drops close matches in loss
The USU women’s tennis team split its two matches at the Sports Academy and Racquet Club last Friday and Saturday, defeating Montana State 5-2 Friday and losing to Montana 2-5 Saturday.
“I couldn’t be happier,” USU’s Courtney Anderson said of her team’s 1-1 start to the spring season. “This is my last year, and I’m going to try to go out with a bang and give it all I’ve got.”
Bobcats 5, Aggies 2
The Aggies’ two points came from Anderson and Brianna Harris, each of which won their respective singles matches.
Playing in the No. 1 singles spot, Anderson had to put a little more work than was desired in her 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 victory over the Bobcats’ Nicole Luetolf.
Anderson’s breakdown in the second set was a result of her not showing the level of aggressiveness she normally does.
“She started stepping up her game,” Anderson said. “I started playing defensive, [but] I’m an offensive player. I thought I would close it out in the second [set]. It was closer than it looked.”
Harris’ victory came a little easier.
She made quick work of the Bobcats’ Remy Clark, defeating her 6-3, 6-0.
Lauren Monson, named WAC Tennis Player of the Week this past Thursday, got toppled quickly in her singles event by Ali Griffin 0-6, 2-6.
Though the two other singles matches were claimed by the Bobcats, they didn’t come without a fight from the Aggies.
Erin Monson climbed back from dropping her first set to Nuria Hernandez 4-6. Monson claimed the second frame 6-3 before playing Hernandez closely to the end, but losing 5-7 in the final set.
The Aggies’ Bridgette Strickland followed suit.
In the final singles match of the day Strickland began by losing her first set to McKenzie Hilmer 1-6. Strickland bounced back with a 6-3 second-set triumph and then nearly claimed the tiebreaker before losing it 7-10.
Dee-Dee Nelson had to forfeit stop her match (the No. 3 singles event of the day) to Katy Proeittiat at the beginning of the second set due to an injury. Nelson had lost the first set 2-6 and was trailing 0-1 before her injury.
The Aggies also failed to claim the doubles point.
Of the three doubles matches, only the Monson sisters won theirs.
Playing against Proeitti and Luetolf in the No. 1 doubles match of the day, the Monsons fell behind 0-2. They eventually made up their lost ground and put away their opponents 9-7.
Though it was a crowd-pleasing win, it had no impact on the overall outcome of the day.
By the time that match came to its end, the other two doubles matches had already finished with the Bobcats winning both of them and securing for themselves the doubles point.
Hernandez and Allison Fey beat Anderson and Nelson 8-5 and Griffen and Hilmer cruised past the Aggies’ Harris and Strickland 8-0.
“We knew it was going to be a tough match,” Aggie Head Coach Chris Wright said. “The girls fought really hard.”
Aggies 5, Grizzlies 2
About 10 minutes into the final match of the day between USU and Montana last Friday, USU’s Strickland found out the outcome had already been decided.
By that point the Aggies were up 4-2, and a win or a loss on Strickland’s part wouldn’t have made a difference in the overall outcome.
Luckily for Strickland, she won her match and the Aggies edged the visiting Montana Grizzlies 5-2 Friday afternoon at the Sports Academy and Raquet Club.
Strickland’s wasn’t the easiest task in the world, especially considering she won after losing the first set 4-6 to the Grizzlies’ Jessica Souza.
The second set was a squeaker, with Strickland wining 7-6. She then won the tiebreaker 13-11 to end a six-hour match, which featured three doubles events and six singles.
“When I went on I wasn’t sure [what the score was],” said Strickland, a sophomore from Orem. “[It was] a little bit [hard] because then it was like I didn’t have to win.”
Wright observed the same thing.
“[It took] a lot of desire knowing we already had the match won,” he said.
Though the Aggies won by a comfortable margin, it stretched a few hours longer than usual because of number of matches that went three sets long.
Four of the six singles events did just that.
In event number one, Anderson took the first set 6-2 before dropping set two 6-7. Just as quickly as she won the first set, Anderson then won the third set 6-2.
The Aggies’ Erin Monson fell in a hole early in event two to Mari Castello, losing the first set 6-7. But then she cruised through the following two sets, 6-1, 6-0.
The next match was similar, but with a different outcome.
The Grizzlies’ Danni Paulson came from a one-set deficit to defeat the Aggies’ Nelson 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Harris was the sole Aggie to win her match in straight sets. She defeated Cheyne Ursich, 6-4, 6-0.
The Grizzlies’ Martyna Nowak then beat Lauren Monson 7-6, 6-1 before Strickland’s win.
“We had to work for it,” Wright said. “It looked like we could have clinched the thing a little earlier [than we did].”
To begin the day, the Aggies won two of the three doubles matches to win the doubles point.
After Montana’s Walker and Castello helped the Grizzlies capture the first doubles match, USU’s Anderson and Nelson defeated the Grizzlies’ Ursich and Paulson 8-5.
Strickland and Harris then pulled out a close two sets against Nowak and Souza, 9-8, 7-4.
The Aggies next take on Boise State. The match will be Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. at the Sports Academy and Racquet Club.
-sbhislop@cc.usu.edu