The University of Utah men’s and women’s tennis teams battled hard this week but ended up losing all four contests. The men’s team was also forced to postpone two matches against Loyola Marymount and San Diego State.

After these two postponements, the Utah men’s tennis team opened their week against the No. 18 ranked UCLA on Friday, March 12. The team played well but lost the match 1-6. The day opened well for the men’s team, as the Utah doubles duo of Francisco Bastias and Slava Shainyan won a decisive match over the UCLA pairing of Max Wild and Keegan Smith. The third doubles team for the Utes also picked up a win, although it was not counted toward the final tally. Geronimo Busleiman and Chris Heck showed their continued continuity and picked up this motivational victory. However, in the second doubles match, the Utes’ team of Luis Flores and Bruno Krenn could not beat the UCLA duo.

The singles matches were also hotly contested, but the Utes fell short in crucial tiebreaks and sets. The number one singles match saw Shainyan matched up with Smith. The first set went to a tiebreak and Shainyan performed admirably but lost the tiebreak and the next set to Smith. The number two singles match followed a similar trajectory. Busleiman faced UCLA’s Drew Baird and fought all the way to a final set tiebreak, eventually losing 16-14. Bastias also forced a third set in his singles match but couldn’t come away with the win. 

On Saturday, March 13, the Utes were faced with another tough test in the No. 10 ranked USC Trojans. The Utes lost 0-7, but again pushed the Trojans’ team to their limits and lost in third sets and tie breaks. The doubles teams played well and the pairing of Shainyan and Bastias were leading 5-4 before the match was suspended. In singles, the Utes players played impressively again, but couldn’t come away with any points in the games. Shainyan lost in straight sets to the No. 19 ranked Riley Smith, and Busleiman lost his match in straight sets as well. Krenn, Heck and Flores all forced third sets but couldn’t come away with victories.

The Utes women’s team fought valiantly as well but couldn’t come away with wins in either of their matches. Their first match of the week was against the No. 38 ranked Washington State on Thursday, March 11.

The Utes’ second and third doubles teams lost their matches, which forced an early end to the match of the number one doubles pairing of Madeline Lamoreaux and Emily Dush. The Utah team was leading 4-3 when this match was called off. Lamoreaux tried to carry the momentum of her prematurely-ended doubles match into her singles match, but couldn’t and lost in straight sets. Lindsay Hung also lost her match in straight sets, and Madison Tattini’s loss in her number five singles match up brought the match to its untimely end.

The Utes lead in many of the matches’ unfinished contests. Dush looked to be in control in the third set of her matchup, and Anastasia Goncharova was up a set at the time the match was called off. Anya Lamoreaux was a bright spot as she picked up points for the Utes as she won the second and third sets decisively after losing the first. 

The Utes women’s team played their second match of the week against Oregon on Sunday, March 14. The Utes lost this match 4-3 after winning three singles matches and almost completing a spectacular comeback.

The doubles matchups went similarly to the contest against Washington State. Dush and Madeleine Lamoreaux picked up a win in their doubles match, but Oregon played well and ended up beating the Utes’ other doubles teams to secure the points. The singles portion of the day went well for Utah as it ended 3-3 overall, but the decisive doubles point earned by the Ducks were the deciding factor. Madeline Lamoreaux, Tattini and Hung lost their matches in straight sets despite the all-out effort and grit from each competitor. Dush looked impressive yet again and won her closely fought match by winning clutch points and the tiebreak 10-8. Goncharova also won her match in the third set, and Anya Lamoreaux beat her opponent in straight sets after a tightly contested first set. 

A Look Ahead 

This week the Utes men’s tennis team will be on the road again, traveling to Washington and Oregon for important conference matchups. The women’s team will travel to California and face off against UCLA and USC, hoping to get back on track. These matches can all be streamed via the Utes Tennis Streaming function on the Utes website. 

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