A day after getting five players named to the All-MWC team, the men’s and women’s tennis teams took the court to compete in the Mountain West Conference Tournament at Albuquerque, N.M.
Unfortunately, only the women’s team was able to advance past the first round of tournament play, as the No. 3 seeded men’s team fell to No. 6 seed UNLV 4-2. The women’s team, seeded at No. 6 in its bracket, upset No. 3 seed San Diego State 4-3 with its strong singles play.
“It was extremely competitive between two evenly matched teams,” said women’s head coach Mat Iandolo. “Leigh (Walsh), being a senior, with her experience, facing a freshman made a big difference.”
Senior Walsh went up against Aztec freshman Roxanne Ellison in what ended up the last match to finish play between the two teams. After a struggling first set in which Walsh went down 1-6, the senior responded in a big way, winning the next two sets 7-5 (5), 6-4. Anastasia Putilina and Evgenia Kryuchkova also gave the Utes two wins in singles play.
“Evgenia’s and Anastasia’s dominating performances at the first and third positions set the tone for our singles effort,” Iandolo said.
The women’s team also recorded two doubles wins against San Diego State. The tandem of juniors Erin Monson and Andrea Maughan beat Holly Bagshaw and Julia Trunk 8-3, while Utes Putilina and Lisa Johnson won their doubles match 9-8 (3).
Utah’s women’s team will now face the No. 2 seed TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday.
The men’s team was unable beat the No. 6 seeded Running Rebels because of only one win recorded in singles play. After a strong showing in the doubles, where Utah won two out of three games, the Utes lost the past three singles matches to close out the contest. Elliot Wronski, Luca Barlocchi, Mehdi Bouras and Wesley Burrows all recorded wins for UNLV in singles play. Utah’s only win in singles came from Timmy Allin, who bested Bryan Miller 6-1, 6-2.
Although the performances in the conference tournament might have brought mixed results for the tennis program, neither team could have been disappointed with the recognition it got on the all-conference team.
Utah coaches Iandolo of the women and F.D. Robbins of the men were both pleased when the all-conference team was posted. Three players from the women’s team and two men received all-conference honors.
For the women, Monson was awarded for her play in both doubles and singles, while Putilina was placed on the team for her singles play and Maughan received a spot on the team for her doubles play.
“This is a great honor for our program,” Iandolo said. “Having three players who are underclassmen selected in singles and/or doubles is very encouraging for next year.”
The men’s two all-conference nods were awarded to senior Wes Hancock and junior Phillip Eilers. The two were recognized for their stellar performances as a doubles team this year along with their singles play as well.
“Phillip and Wes both had a great year for us in singles and doubles,” Robbins said. “They are a big reason why we finished second in the conference in the regular season and had a very successful year overall.”