The Central Region Women’s Tennis Championships, held Oct. 24 to 28 in Tulsa, Okla., were filled with many quality teams, and Utah went in looking to put a large dent in the tournament by surprising the upper-echelon teams.
However, Utah could not get its feet off the ground, as all singles players lost on the first day. Sheri Esrock lost to New Mexico State’s Elke Blodau, Cassie Kasteler lost her first match to Oklahoma’s Anda Perianu, and Irini Kotoglou fell to the region’s fourth-ranked player, Aleksandra Durska, who eventually won the singles competition.
In the second day of the tourney, all Ute singles players competed in the backdraw.
Esrock won her first matchup against Nebraska’s Rebeka Harvey, but then lost to Oklahoma State’s Dominiques Olzewska. Kasteler lost her first match in the backdraw, and Kotoglou pulled out of her match due to an injury.
Meanwhile, Utah’s Ellen Svensson, the winner of the backdraw at the BYU Invitational, competed with Kasteler in doubles play, and they won their first match against Montana’s Sarah Blain and Molly Sanders.
The other Ute doubles team of Kotoglou and Linn Ronnberg was defeated by Hayley McIver and Paula Castillejos from Kansas State.
In the second round, Svensson and Kasteler were knocked out of the tournament by BYU’s Dominique Reynolds and Lindsay Ferrell.
Not one Utah player made it past the second round of the regular competition or the backdraw.
However, the Utes did receive some much-needed experience, as they competed against quality teams.
The team’s fall preseason is now over, and the Utes will be out of action until their regular season-opener Jan. 18 against Utah State at the Eccles Tennis Center.