Women’s tennis falls at Weber
It was a bit of déjà vu for the USU women’s tennis team Thursday as they lost 4-3 at Weber State in a match that mirrored the two teams’ first meeting in Logan earlier this season.
The similarities began with the doubles competition, where, as they did back in February, the Wildcats swept all three matches. This time, however, the scores were much closer and the Aggies were playing without senior Andrea Barker, who was away receiving an award.
At the No. 1 spot for the Aggies, the duo of senior Jill Smith and junior Lauren Monson, who usually compete at the No. 2 spot in doubles, held their own against Weber’s Elena Smit and Inalise Pienaar, but lost, 8-5.
In the No. 2 spot, things were a little closer. The team of sophomore Courtney Anderson and freshman Dee Dee Nelson had match point at 7-6 before being broken and losing the next two games in a 9-7 loss to Weber’s Alexandra Ilie and Gabriela Venditto.
The No. 3 match was the closest of them all, with the make-shift pairing of senior Lindsey Bennion and freshman Bridgette Strickland taking the match to a tie-breaker before losing 9-8 to Weber’s Karla Pretorius and McKaye Badger.
In singles competition things went much the same as they have before in Logan. The Aggies once again took the No. 1, 2 and 3 spots before losing at the No. 4, 5 and 6 spots.
At No. 1, Bennion defeated Smit 6-3, 6-3. At No. 2, Smith took three sets to secure a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Ilie.
At No. 3, Anderson recorded her team-high 13th singles win of the season with a 6-1, 6-2 dismissal of Pienaar. Nelson, on the other hand, had a much tougher time at the No. 4 spot, losing her match 6-3, 6-2 to Pretorius.
Moving up from the No. 6 spot in Barker’s absence, Monson lost 6-2, 6-1, to Venditto who increased her singles winning streak to four with the win.
Playing in her first singles match this season, Strickland failed to win a game in the second set, losing to Ashley Schapper, 6-4, 6-0.
“Everybody competed well and fought for everything,” Coach Christian Wright said. “I can’t ask anything more from those who competed.”
Wright also said he felt Barker’s absence could have played a part in the outcome of the match.
“I definitely think it was a factor,” he said, “It would’ve been nice to have her out there with the experience that she has.
The Aggie women will compete next at home against Idaho State this Tuesday in a match that was originally scheduled for earlier this season.
-jhislop@cc.usu.edu