The No. 53 Utah women’s tennis team looks to bounce back against BYU on Wednesday, April 8 at 3 p.m, and Margo Pletcher is confident she and her teammates can do just that.
“I’m definitely expecting to win,” Pletcher said. “I think for sure we can do really well in doubles. I think we’ve been doing a lot better [collectively], and we can win for sure.”
The Utes’ five-match winning streak came to an end when they lost to No. 45 Rice on Saturday afternoon, 4-2.
Utah won all of its doubles matches but lost its advantage when it came down to singles. Head coach Mat Iandolo said it was the less experienced athletes that struggled against the Owls.
“I feel like we came out really well, played great in the doubles, started out some matches really well,” Iandolo said. “Some of our younger players just had a difficult time sustaining their level, and I think they got a little negative at winning time, and it cost us.”
Iandolo said this was something the team can learn from, and they need to do a better job of managing their feelings.
“[It was a] great learning experience, but [we] definitely need to do a better job of our emotions when it comes time to win the match,” Iandolo said.
While the team lost, No. 67 Tereza Bekerova got a win in singles against No. 21 Natalie Beazant, despite some heavy wind.
“I feel great,” Berekova said. “The conditions weren’t ideal today, but I played well. [The wind] always bothers you because it brings the ball to places where you don’t want to have it, but it wasn’t too bad, and I dealt with it well today.”
Since this was the team’s last home match, it also served as Senior Day, and Iandolo thinks his seniors were able to step up, especially Bekerova.
“I was incredibly happy with Tereza Bekerova and her having a big win over the No. 21 kid in the country and couldn’t be happier with her in singles and doubles,” Iandolo said. “Elena [Najera-Salas] played great in third doubles, and I couldn’t be happier with the performance of the seniors.”
Bekerova’s doubles partner, Pletcher, was unable to duplicate her partner’s success in singles play.
“I think we played really aggressive [in doubles]. We were really strong, and there weren’t really any times where we let up,” Pletcher said. “Singles, in the beginning I was up 5-0, and I think she figured out my weakness, and I was a little tentative moving, and I could have been mentally stronger.”
Iandolo said he expects Bekerova to continue playing at the same level she has for the past few months, and she should be able to get a win in Provo.
“It’s just a positive thing [to get that win],” Iandolo said. “She’s done really well over the past two or three months, and the momentum will carry on as whole.”
Pletcher said this whole year she has been working on keeping her cool during the match.
“I’ve been working on my mental strength, and I’m strong out there, but I can lose control,” Pletcher said. “Staying focused through the whole match and not getting down on myself, staying positive, will be a huge factor.”
Bekerova said she needs to work on her serve and put some focus on her return game. However, while she may be brushing up on a few things, she is eyeing a victory at BYU.
“[We need to] perform well and be able to handle whatever comes up because the matches against BYU are always crazy,” Bekerova said. “It’s mentally hard to deal with it, but I hope we will win.”
Iandolo said the Cougars do not really pose a threat to the Utes, they just need to expect a tough match from their rival.
“If we go out there and play mentally tough, then we’ll give ourselves a great chance to win,” he said.
@kbrenneisen