This year’s U women’s tennis team hoped to see a different kind of season than in years past, considering that the team would be at full strength for the first time in ages.
After a lackluster regular season, the Utes still hoped to finish much better in the Mountain West Conference Championships.
But hopes could not be turned into reality, as the Utes suffered the same fate as they did last year. Utah could only win one of three matches in the tournament, to finish sixth in the conference championships.
After being shut out by the BYU Cougars in the first round, the Utes had to play a team that had already defeated them in the season, as they had to match-up against the Wyoming Cowgirls in the consolation bracket.
As they did last year, the Utes were able to defeat the Cowgirls in the second round of the conference championships, 4-0.
The best the Utes could then finish in the conference tournament was fifth, as they headed into the last match of the tourney against Air Force.
Their first win of the conference season came against Air Force, and the Utes tried to duplicate their efforts this time, but could not finish off the Falcons. The team lost 4-3.
The Utes finish the season with a 10-15 record, overall, and were 2-5 in conference play. The sixth-place finish could not sit well with the Utes, since the team was so close to defeating Air Force in the third round.
Given that it would be the last singles matches for Irini Kotoglou and Linn Ronnberg, the seniors played their hearts out and kept the Utes in the match.
Both were able to win their matches with convincing scores, as they took control and emerged victorious in straight sets.
However, the one aspect of the game that plagued the Utes all season hit them again: The doubles play was not able to get the one point needed to win the match.
The teams of Kotoglou and Allison Hansen, along with Ronnberg and Sheri Esrock, were blown away, 8-1 and 8-2, respectively.
The match against Air Force epitomized the Utes’ season, as they lost close matches all season long.