After waiting out the rain delay, Dixie State University women’s tennis kept the Storm rolling, finishing off a six-day road trip with a split in Northern California March 23.
The Storm dominated in the opening match, sweeping Notre Dame de Namur University in doubles and singles play. Led by sophomore Karolin Kukaras, who swept No. 1 singles 6-0 and No. 1 doubles alongside freshman Lacey Hancock.
“[Hancock and Kukaras] played exceptional,” head coach Eric Pelton said. “They were really focused on the court and the way they finished points was quite impressive.”
Hancock swept her match at No. 2 singles while junior Laura Hartle and freshman Jenna Fosdick cruised to an 8-0 victory at No. 2 doubles.
Juniors Kaylee Tarver and Samantha Yacano followed suit, sweeping their respective singles matches in the same dominating manner.
DSU’s domination, however, would come to a halt in the second stanza against Holy Names University. HNU took the matchup but didn’t do so without a fight from the Storm.
“I thought we played really well,” Pelton said. “We lost a couple of games, but we lost them to some very good teams. This road trip was a great learning experience for the team.”
Kukaras and Hancock got an 8-2 win at No. 1 doubles. Both players also finished off their opponents in singles, winning 6-3, 6-0 and 6-1, 6-2, respectively. HNU swept the remaining matches for the 6-3 overall win.
“I obviously wish we would’ve won a couple more games,” Kukaras, a biology major from Heidelberg, Germany, said. “We’re a really young team and we have a lot of good players coming in, so I’m really excited for next season.”
The Storm will have some considerable time off before concluding their regular season against Division I foe Southern Utah University in Cedar City April 7.