April 3, 2010
SALT LAKE CITY - No. 74 San Diego State won the doubles point, but could not produce similar results in singles as the Aztecs fell to 49th-ranked Utah, 5-2, in a five-hour match at Eccles Tennis Center Saturday morning. The decision drops SDSU to 7-9 on the season and 0-3 in Mountain West Conference play.
The Aztecs were on the losing end of the doubles match at No. 3 to start the day, but bounced back to win at the second and first spots, respectively, to claim the point. Julia Trunk and Julia Wais helped SDSU pull even with the Utes with their 8-6 victory over Erin Monson and Andrea Maughan. Then with the point on the line, Roxanne and Sierra Ellison earned a hard-fought 9-8(3) win over Anastasia Putilina and Paige Miles to send San Diego State into singles play with a 1-0 lead.
Utah tied the match after Olivia Colman was defeated by Maughan in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1, at the bottom of the order and the 1-0 Aztec lead soon became a 3-1 deficit after Ute victories at Nos. 2 and 1. At the second position, No. 78 Alicia Aguilar fell to Evgenia Kryuchkova, 6-2, 6-0, and fellow ranked player, No. 50 Trunk, was on the wrong side of a 6-3, 6-2 effort against Putilina.
Despite losing its lead, SDSU fought its way back into the match after Wais beat Monson, 6-2, 6-4, at third singles. The decision brought the Aztecs to within one of the Utes at 3-2 with two close matches still in progress.
The Ellison sisters were the last Aztecs on the court and at No. 4, Roxanne Ellison was a 6-2 first-set winner over Miles, while Sierra Ellison narrowly fell to Lisa Johnson, 7-6(3), at No. 5. But as each match grew older, Johnson outlasted Sierra Ellison, 7-6(3), 7-5, to secure the clinching point for Utah, and Miles rallied to defeat Roxanne Ellison, 2-6, 6-1, 7-5, to provide the final 5-2 score.
SDSU returns to the court and to Las Vegas for a second time this season on Friday, April 9, when it takes on TCU in a neutral-site affair. First serve is set for 10 a.m. PT.
No. 49 Utah 5, No. 74 San Diego State 2
Eccles Tennis Center (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Doubles
1. Roxanne Ellison/Sierra Ellison (SDSU) def. Anastasia Putilina/Paige Miles (Utah), 9-8(3)
2. Julia Trunk/Julia Wais (SDSU) def. Erin Monson/Andrea Maughan (Utah), 8-6
3. Evgenia Kryuchkova/Lisa Johnson (Utah) def. Olivia Colman/Emma Cioffi (SDSU), 8-4
Singles
1. Anastasia Putilina (Utah) def. No. 50 Julia Trunk (SDSU), 6-3, 6-2
2. Evgenia Kryuchkova (Utah) def. No. 78 Alicia Aguilar (SDSU), 6-2, 6-0
3. Julia Wais (SDSU) def. Erin Monson (Utah), 6-2, 6-4
4. Paige Miles (Utah) def. Roxanne Ellison (SDSU), 2-6, 6-1, 7-5
5. Lisa Johnson (Utah) def. Sierra Ellison (SDSU), 7-6(3), 7-5
6. Andrea Maughan (Utah) def. Olivia Colman (SDSU), 6-0, 6-1
Order of finish
Doubles: 3, 2, 1
Singles: 6, 2, 1, 3, 5*, 4
*Clinching match