MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Utah women’s tennis program secured a 5-2 victory against the Memphis Tigers on Sunday afternoon, marking the third consecutive win.
The No. 50 Utes earned a commanding victory against No. 38 Memphis as Utah took the first two doubles matches to acquire its first point and later clinched the competition with victories in the first three singles matches before the rest of the contest was finished through.
“Great team effort today. So proud of the team as they continue to focus on the process and their growth,” said head coach Ric Mortera. “The seniors were great again today. Kat [Lyman] played a solid match and it felt so good to see Ana [Luiza Cruz] step up today and clinch the dual. She has been the epitome of what we ask of our players day in and day out and I could not be any happier for her and her performance today. We look forward to celebrating today and then getting ready to head to California in a few days.”
Utah 5, Memphis 2
The Utes continued their momentum from Friday’s thrilling victory over Minnesota by seizing both of the first two doubles matches to start play. Ana Luiza Cruz and Marcela Lopez defeated Memphis’s Leonie Moeller and Camila Soares, 6-4 in the No. 1 spot. Next, Samantha Horwood and Kat Lyman came through in a tight match against Emily Meyer and Monique Woog, 7-5 in the No. 2 spot, to give Utah a strong start before the singles competition. In the final doubles match, Alice Amendola and Miriam Grossman of Memphis led 5-4 against Sara Akid and Kaila Barksdale but did not finish.
Sarah Akid claimed the first victory for Utah in singles play on court No. 5, defeating Emily Meyer 6-4, 6-4. Yuhan Liu gave Utah a heavy advantage with a 7-5, 6-4 finish over Monique Woog on court No. 3 to push Utah one point closer to clinch. Kat Lyman slammed the door on the Tigers, defeating Alice Amendola 7-5, 6-2, and clinching the Utes’ win.
As play carried on, Cruz battled in the sixth spot against Micah Pierce. Cruz captured the first set via a tiebreaker 77-65 to set up for a dominating 6-0 second set. The Tigers held their ground on courts No. 1 and 2 as Camila Soares and Marcela Lopez fought into a third-set tiebreak, but Lopez fell just short, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4). In the final match, Leonie Moeller defeated Kaila Barksdale 6-4, 6-2.
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