April 16, 2011
SAN DIEGO - No. 46 San Diego State was edged by 55th-ranked Utah, 4-3, on a hot Saturday afternoon at Aztec Tennis Center. With the defeat, the Aztecs fall to 15-8 overall and 6-1 in the Mountain West Conference. The Utes, meanwhile, improve to 12-9 (6-1 MWC) and move into a second-place tie with SDSU.
San Diego State's No. 2 doubles tandem of Alicia Aguilar and Julia Wais opened the day with an 8-6 victory over Evgenia Kryuchkova and Lexi Provancha, which gave the Aztecs the upper hand early on. Utah, however, responded with narrow wins at Nos. 1 and 3 to capture the doubles point.
Singles action proved to be just as tight as doubles with the team outcome coming down to the final match.
SDSU tied the match at 1-1 when Wais cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Kryuchkova at No. 2, which gave her four singles wins in her last four outings.
Utah retook the lead when Sarah Pham defeated Aguilar at No. 3, 6-3, 6-1, only to have San Diego State pull even when Sierra Ellison claimed a victory at No. 5. Hailing from Coto de Caza, Calif., Ellison downed Paige Miles, 6-4, 6-2, to post her eighth consecutive win.
The Aztecs eventually moved ahead of the Utes, 3-2, when Emma Cioffi finished on the winning side of a 7-6, 6-0 score in a match vs. Lucia Kovarcikova at No. 4. The decision was the junior's fourth in a row and improves her record at the fourth position to 8-1 on the season.
Julia Trunk, who was competing at No. 1, found herself in a battle with 92nd-ranked Anastasia Putilina, as did Roxanne Ellison, who was playing at No. 6 against Provancha.
San Diego State needed to win one of the two remaining matches to move into a first-place tie with UNLV, but came up just short. Trunk ultimately fell to Putilina, 6-3, 6-4, in a back-and-forth contest, which tied the match at 3-all, and Ellison dropped a 6-4, 6-4 decision at No. 6, which propelled the Utes to victory.
SDSU returns to the court on Sunday morning when it plays host to the first-place and 43rd-ranked Rebels (18-4; 7-0 MWC). Doubles is set to begin at 10 a.m. PT at Aztec Tennis Center.
No. 55 Utah 4, No. 46 San Diego State 3
Aztec Tennis Center; San Diego, Calif.
Doubles
1. Putilina/Miles (Utah) def. No. 69 Ellison/Ellison (SDSU), 8-5
2. Wais/Aguilar (SDSU) def. Kryuchkova/Provancha (Utah), 8-6
3. Kovarcikova/Pham (Utah) def. Trunk/Cioffi (SDSU), 8-7
Utah wins doubles point.
Singles
1. No. 92 Anastasia Putilina (Utah) def. Julia Trunk (SDSU), 6-3, 6-4
2. Julia Wais (SDSU) def. Evgenia Kryuchkova (Utah), 6-0, 6-1
3. Sarah Pham (Utah) def. Alicia Aguilar (SDSU), 6-3, 6-1
4. Emma Cioffi (SDSU) def. Lucia Kovarcikova (Utah), 7-6, 6-0
5. Sierra Ellison (SDSU) def. Paige Miles (Utah), 6-4, 6-2
6. Lexi Provancha (Utah) def. Roxanne Ellison (SDSU), 6-4, 6-4
Order of Finish
Doubles: 2, 1, 3
Singles: 2, 3, 5, 4, 1, 6*
*clinching match