Dixie State University’s women’s tennis warmed up for some tough conference play with a matchup with Division III Mills College in Oakland, California, Friday.
The Storm swept MC, winning all three doubles matches and all six singles. The young Storm team, led by mostly underclassmen, dominated from the opening stanza. Freshman Lacey Hancock and sophomore Karolin Kukaras cruised to an 8-0 in No. 1 doubles.
Junior Laura Hartle and freshman Jenna Fosdick also ran the table at No. 2 and juniors Samantha Yacano and Kaylee Tarver won No. 3 by a score of 8-1.
DSU maintained its dominance in the singles, winning all six matches by at least five games.
“They played phenomenal,” head coach Eric Pelton said. “Everyone really stayed aggressive and were able to put pressure on the opponents and close out point opportunities.”
DSU was set to face Dominican University next, but the only storm that would hit Sunday was a massive cold front from the west. The inclement weather forced officials to postpone the matches with DU and Notre Dame de Namur, setting up a showdown with perennial powerhouse BYU-Hawaii.
The Seasiders came into Monday’s matchup boasting a No. 2 national ranking, and they lived up to the hype. Brigham Young University-Hawaii swept through doubles play, winning each match 8-0.
The Storm put up a better fight in singles, but ultimately fell to the Seasiders 9-0 overall.
“[BYU-H] is one of the top tennis programs in Division II,” Pelton said. “We knew it would be a tough matchup, but I think it was a good learning experience for the girls to get in there and get a feel for that kind of competition.”
