Women’s tennis wins doubles point to cap comeback over ISU
The effort of just a couple of players can turn around a match and motivate an entire team.
But it isn’t always easy to watch.
“It was causing me pain,” said Utah State women’s tennis Head Coach Chris Wright.
Finding itself in a 3-1 hole to rival Idaho State, USU picked up late, three-set wins at No. 4 and 5 singles to force the determining doubles matches Thursday at the Sports Academy.
The Aggies (8-9) would go on to win 4-3 in their final regular season match and split the season series, 1-1, with ISU (10-7).
At No. 5, Shelly Ferguson lost the first set 7-6 after losing a tiebreaker 9-7, but was able to rebound against Armine Sarkavagyan.
“It was just way too close,” Ferguson said. “It just made me even more fired up in the second set.”
In the second, she got the victory, 6-2, and went on to win 6-4 in the third.
“She really gutted it out in the third set to give us a chance,” Wright said.
That left Jill Smith, who Wright said had been sick during the week, as the lone remaining Aggie on the court, with the team’s fate in her hands.
Smith got through the first set with a 6-2 win, but lost a 7-3 tiebreaker in the second. Things didn’t look good early for her in the third, as she fell behind Carol Tolsma 3-0.
But Smith would battle back.
With a crowd of about 30 teammates and fans cheering her on, she was able to hold a serve and pick up a game, sparking her comeback. She then went on to win four straight and take a 5-3 lead.
Tolsma held her serve to close to within 5-4, but Smith finished her off for the 6-4 win.
“Jill stepped up,” Wright said. “She needed to be more aggressive, and that’s what turned it around for her in the third. I wasn’t worried, she just needed to move more offensively.”
Smith’s win tied the score at 3-3 and brought up doubles, which, due to trying to get the singles matches played outside before the weather changed, were held last.
Like in singles, the doubles point came down to the wire, but this time the Aggies had momentum on their side.
“We were really just pumped from the singles tie that we got,” said Aggie Caroline Pollock. “We had lots of energy and enthusiasm coming into the doubles, and that can just take you right through the match quickly if you hold on to that.”
And in her match with partner Lindsey Bennion, the Aggie duo took off quickly, going up 6-1. The match appeared to be in hand, but Bengals Eka Jvania and Hayli Scott won five straight games to even things up.
Both teams split the next two games, before Utah State got a key break to go up 8-7. With fist pumping, smiles and high fives after every point, Bennion and Pollock held their final serve for the 9-7 victory.
With one doubles win secured, the Aggies only needed one of the remaining two for the match win. They got it at No. 3.
“I had a feeling that it would come down to our match because I wasn’t sure who won [in the other doubles matches], and so I was like, I can’t let us lose,” Ferguson said.
In a switch from previous matches, Ferguson teamed with Andrea Hansen for the first time this season – and the two got off to a good start. Going up 6-3 against Sarkavagyan and Kristina Arutjunova, the Aggies looked to be in control until the Bengals won the next two games.
Bouncing back, the Aggies won another game to go up 7-6 and ended up serving for not just their match, but for the team win.
The Bengals wouldn’t just roll over, throwing their rackets at balls just out of reach. But Hansen and Ferguson’s shots found holes, and they went on to the 8-6 win.
“I was just determined,” Ferguson said. “I was like, this is not happening, we’re not losing. I think it was all motivation. We were just so motivated to win.”
In the other doubles match, Carolyn Larsen and Haley Hawkins fell 9-7 to ISU’s Melanie Kranz and Tolsma.
Ferguson said with the momentum going into doubles, the players had a lot of confidence in their ability to win.
“I knew we would win the doubles point. I knew that we would,” she said. “I knew that it would be hard, but I knew we could totally beat them. We just totally had the momentum.”
Pollock said, “It was sketchy for a minute there when we were down 1-3, but we came back looking strong.”
The matches leading up to finale were tight, but still ended up swinging in Idaho State’s favor.
Larsen, at No. 2, was the first to finish her match, a 6-0, 6-1 win over Kranz to give the Aggies a brief 1-0 lead.
But at No. 1, Pollock fell to Jvania, 6-4, 7-5 and Bennion lost her No. 3 match to Scott, 6-1, 7-5. In the other singles match, Hawkins was topped by Arutjunova, 6-2, 6-1.
For Pollock, the lone senior on the team, this was her last regular season, and last home, match.
Pollock finishes the season with an 8-9 spring singles record, the second best on the team, and a 9-8 doubles record.
With the closeness of the singles matches, Wright said he felt his players should have picked up a victory to close things out before doubles.
“I really feel like it shouldn’t have come to this,” he said. “For my well being, and for their ability, they should have closed the door. But thank heavens we were able to get the three points, so it went to the final match.”
Although playing doubles second to ensure singles could be played outside was a different twist, Pollock said she liked it.
“It made it just more fun and interesting, especially since it did count for the match,” she said.
Her preference, though, wouldn’t have been to play outside in the gusting winds.
“It was hard for us because of the elements,” Pollock said. “I wish we would have played them inside. Maybe I would have won my singles, but we came out with the victory and that’s all that matters.”
-slbk5@cc.usu.edu
AGGIE CAROLINE POLLOCK moves for a backhand in her singles match Thursday against Idaho State. (Photo by Ryan Talbot)