Utah State Women's Tennis Loses, 4-3, to Akron

Women's Tennis 2/1/2019 4:55:00 PM

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State women's tennis (1-2, 0-0 MW) lost to Akron (6-0, 0-0 MAC) on Friday afternoon at the Sports Academy & Racquet Club.

"It was a really good college tennis match," said head coach Sean McInerney. "We're still working on our identity as a singles lineup. We played hard, and I don't have think we did what was necessary to give ourselves the best chance to win, but give Akron the credit. They came here, played a great match, are well-coached and fought like crazy to beat us."

In doubles, junior Hannah Jones and sophomore Alexandra Taylor cruised to a 6-2 win at the No. 1 spot against junior Rita Pedroso and sophomore Miruna Vasilescu. Junior Lucy Octave and freshman Annaliese County edged out a win at the No. 2 spot, 7-5, against redshirt-senior Sophia Geier and sophomore Anna Uljanov to win the doubles point. Freshmen Gabrielle Dekkers and Sidnee Lavatai's match on court three went unfinished against senior Luisa Echeverr and freshman Holland Long.

Jones opened singles play with a 4-6, 1-6, straight-set loss against Geier on court one. Dekkers forced a third set on court three against Uljanov, as she lost the first set, 3-6, but won the second set, 6-2. The third and final set went to Uljanov, 6-3. Taylor's match at the No. 2 spot against Vasilescu also went to a third set, as Taylor forced the match to go to three sets after losing the first, 1-6, and won the second set via a 7-6 (4) tiebreaker. Vasilescu ultimately won the match with a third-set sweep, 6-0. County won her first set, 7-6 (10), in a back-and-forth battle at the No. 5 spot against Echeverry, but lost the next two, 5-7, 0-6.

With all other singles matches already underway, the teams agreed to keep play going, despite Akron already earning the win. Octave defeated Pedroso in a nail-bitter, as Octave fell in the first set, 5-7, but won the final two sets in tiebreaks, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3). The match wrapped up at the No. 6 spot, where Lavatai won in straight-sets against freshman Claudia Cecilia Rosas Garcias, 7-5, 6-2.

Utah State will next travel to Pocatello, Idaho, to face Idaho State on Sunday, Feb. 3, at noon (MT) at Reed Gym.

Fans can follow USU's women's tennis team on Twitter @USUWomensTennis, on Facebook at UtahStateWomensTennis or on Instagram @USUWomensTennis. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter at @USUAthletics, on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics or on Instagram at @USUAthletics.

RESULTS
Akron 4, Utah State 3
Doubles
1. Hannah Jones/Alexandra Taylor (USU) def. Rita Pedroso/Miruna Vasilescu (AKRON) 6-2
2. Lucy Octave/Annaliese County (USU) def. Sophia Geier/Anna Uljanov (AKRON) 7-5
3. Gabrielle Dekkers/Sidnee Lavatai (USU) vs. Luisa Echeverry/Holland Long (AKRON) 6-5, unfinished

Singles
1. Sophia Geier (AKRON) def. Hannah Jones (USU) 6-4, 6-1
2. Miruna Vasilescu (AKRON) def. Alexandra Taylor (USU) 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-0
3. Anna Uljanov (AKRON) def. Gabrielle Dekkers (USU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
4. Lucy Octave (USU) def. Rita Pedroso (AKRON) 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-3)
5. Luisa Echeverry (AKRON) def. Annaliese County (USU) 6-7 (10-12), 7-5, 6-0
6. Sidnee Lavatai (USU) def. C. Cecilia Rosas Gar (AKRON) 7-5, 6-2