The Utah women’s tennis team went back to California this weekend to take on No. 13 California and No. 15 Stanford. While California might be known for its sunshine and beaches, the Utes were not having fun in the sun as they were swept 7-0 in both matches.
Traveling first to Berkeley to take on California, the Utes were hoping to use last weekend’s experience to be competitive this weekend. Unfortunately, it was a rough outing as they were swept in the doubles play, and only one player, Paige Miles, was able to force a third set in singles play.
“There is a lot of work to do,” said head coach Mat Iandolo. “It is one thing to compete at home against top level teams like this, but we just aren’t able to compete on the road against these top-ranked teams.”
Utah played better in the following match against Stanford, but the Utes still didn’t register a single point against the Cardinal.
While Stanford was the better team that day, the Utes were able to take some positives from the match. With the reigning 2012 Women’s Singles Champion, Nicole Gibbs, staring her down across the court, Tereza Bekerova knew she had a tough match coming up.
“Going in, I knew she was the defending champ,” Bekerova said. “But I felt like I could compete.”
Compete she did. Bekerova and Gibbs engaged in a three-set thriller that ultimately ended in a Gibbs victory. To be able to compete with girls of Gibbs’ talent, though, was a victory in itself.
“It felt great that I could compete with her,” Bekerova stated. “It was a great match, and I played well. I think I can beat those girls and hope to be one of those girls by next year.”
After going through the toughest stretch of their schedule, the Utes are now sitting at 7-7 in dual meets this season. Utah will be looking forward to the rest of their season, starting this weekend at home against Oregon.
“Those schools [Stanford and California] are really good,” Bekerova said. “We won’t play anyone better than that. We are getting over these last two weekends and getting excited about the rest of the season. It will only get easier.”
Whether it is going up against the powerhouses of California or facing some of the easier teams on their schedule, the Utes will be using all of these matches to improve the program in hopes of reaching the NCAA championships.
“You learn a lot about your team when you play against the best teams in the country,” Iandolo said. “Competing favorably against those teams is the next step in this program. Hopefully we get on a roll in these next few weeks and get in good position to make the NCAA Tournament.”