Ryan Miller
Staff Writer
Playing in the conference that wound up producing the singles, doubles and team NCAA champions, the 2013 Utah women’s tennis team faced a challenge every time it stepped on the court. The Utes battled to an overall record of 11-9 and a 5-5 record and sixth place finish in Pac-12 play.
Utah was coming off a season which saw it make the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year and win the program’s first ever NCAA Tournament match. With that success as a backdrop, the Utes entered the season ranked No. 34 in the nation.
“We had a goal to once again make the NCAA Tournament as a team and to beat the [Pac-12] California schools,” junior Callie Craig said.
In a nine day stretch in March, the Utes faced No 5. UCLA, No. 7 USC, No. 13 Cal and No. 15 Stanford. A victory in any of the four matches would’ve helped them solidify their place as a top program in the conference and aid their quest for an NCAA bid, but they lost all four and were swept in three of the matches.
“I don’t think we were mentally prepared for those matches,” Craig said. “Everyone talks about [being prepared] afterwards, but it wasn’t much help at that point.”
Utah fell to No. 69 in the nation after the California road trip. Though disappointed with their effort and the results against the top teams in the conference, the Utes continued to fight and won four of their last six matches of the season.
“One of the highlights of the year is that we always worked together as a team,” Craig said. “We worked together to accomplish things as a team, not just individuals.”
Utah was paced all year by strong singles play from sophomore Tereza Bekerova and junior Sarah Pham. Bekerova, a transfer from Stephen F. Austin, joined the Utes in the fall and by the end of the season had taken hold of the No. 1 singles position. She finished with a 7-6 record from that spot and was named honorable mention on the All Pac-12 team.
Pham also garnered honorable mention honors, as she went 9-7 during the spring season playing primarily at the No. 2 position. Pham capped off the year by making it to the quarterfinals of singles play at the Pac-12 Championships.
Along with Pham, other Utes fared well at the Pac-12 Tournament. Bekerova advanced to the round of 16 in championship singles and she also partnered with teammate Paige Miles to advance to the round of 16 in championship doubles.
Utah climbed back up the rankings, finishing the season No. 55 in the country, but the end of the year success was not enough to earn it an invitation back to the NCAA Tournament.
Though the team failed to meet its goals this year, the Utes will return all their players next year and will go into next season with the confidence they can compete against the best teams in the conference and return to the NCAA Tournament.
“We have the talent to compete in the conference,” Craig said. “I know we’re good enough.”
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