Utah State women's tennis (10-8, 0-0 MW) never lost a match against Montana (6-9, 2-3 Big Sky) for a 7-0 win on Sunday at the Sports Academy and Racquet Club. The win marked the fifth-straight year USU has reached double-digit wins, the longest streak in program history.
"We came out and it was a very professional performance," head coach Sean McInerney said. "We came out, we were smart, we competed, we found ways to win when things were a little up and down with ball striking. But, our energy and our choices were really good. I was really happy to come out here and be able to win all of the seven singles matches we played and the three doubles against a good, scrappy team. We'll take this and we'll move on. I'm just excited for conference to start."
In doubles, seniors Sabrina Demerath and Maggie O'Meara dropped just one game at the No. 1 spot against senior Cam Kincaid and freshman Bianca Bostrom, winning 6-1. The two remaining courts were tighter and went into tiebreakers. Redshirt freshman Alexandra Taylor clinched the doubles point with a service ace as she and freshman Sasha Pisareva won, 7-6 (7-5), at the No. 2 spot against junior Nathalie Joanlanne and senior Catherine Orfanos. After being down 2-4 at the No. 3 spot, junior Jenna Kane and sophomore Hannah Jones came back to win it in the tiebreak, 7-6 (7-5), against freshman Julia Ronney and junior Lidia Dukic.
In singles, Pisareva posted a straight-set victory over Ronney at the No. 1 spot, 6-2, 6-2. O'Meara also won, 6-2, 6-2, at the No. 3 spot against Bostrom. Sophomore Rhoda Tanui clinched the win for the Aggies with a 6-1, 6-2 victory at the No. 4 spot against Dukic.
After losing the first set, 5-7, at the No. 2 spot, Demerath came back to win the next two, 6-3, 10-4, against Joanlanne. Sophomore Sophia Haleas then won, 6-3, 6-4, at the No. 6 spot against freshman Eimear Maher. Jones rounded out the results with a 4-6, 6-4, 10-5 win at the No. 5 spot against Orfanos.
Utah State opens its Mountain West schedule in Fort Collins, Colorado, as the Aggies take on Colorado State (9-7, 0-1 MW) on Thursday, March 29, at 3 p.m. USU then travels to Laramie, Wyoming, to face Wyoming (8-5, 0-0 MW) on Saturday, March 31, at 8:30 a.m.
Ashley Springer is a student at Utah State University studying journalism and communication. Springer is an intern with the USU athletic department's media relations.