OJAI, Calif. – The University of Utah women's tennis program ended its season today at the Pac-12 Championships, falling to the No. 30 Oregon Ducks, 4-0 in the first round.
In doubles, the Utes battled from start to finish but were unable to come up with the point. No. 71
Alexia Petrovic and
Jena Cheng trailed 3-0 against the duo of No. 69 Julia Eshet and Shweta Sangwan to start off, rallying back to cut it to 4-3 later in the match, but ultimately fell 6-3.
In No. 2 doubles,
Taylor Calton and
Whitney Turley jumped out to a 3-0 lead against No. 88 Alyssa Tobita and Rifanty Kahfiani, but ended up losing 6-3.
Brianna Chisholm and
Victoria Robertson rounded out Utah's doubles play with a 6-3 loss to Julia Lilien and Paiton Wagner.
In singles play, the Utes were unable to come away with a win. Calton fell on the No. 4 court to Nasser, 6-1, 6-2 with Turley losing at the No. 5 spot 6-2, 6-4. Robertson battled in the first set at the No. 6 court, but eventually lost 6-4, 6-2 to Wagner.
Courts one through three went unfinished with Petrovic, Chisholm and Cheng all battling hard for points. Petrovic lost a tough first set 7-6, but had it tied 1-1 before the match was abandoned on court one.
Chisholm and Cheng also had their second sets tied up on courts two and three before the matches were abandoned with Oregon clinching the 4-0 victory.
It ended a season where the Utes came away with 10 dual wins and multiple individual highlights that included key play from the four seniors.
Petrovic, who came into the season after being named ITA Most Improved from the 2016-17 season, took over the No. 1 spot and battled to a national ranking to finish the season and her career as a Ute. She finished her career with over 35 dual wins during her time at Utah, including two wins over ranked opponents this season.
Cheng played at the No. 3 singles position for the majority of the season, earning eight wins that included going 4-0 at the No. 4 spot. The senior also had a strong career off the court, earning back-to-back Pac-12 all-academic selections.
Margo Pletcher started her senior season strong with three singles wins and four wins at No. 1 doubles with Chisholm before suffering a season ending injury. The Laguna Niguel, Calif. native was Pac-12 all-conference last season.
Robertson's hard work was something that rubbed off on the whole team after she found her way into the lineup this season at the No. 6 position. She earned six dual wins and at the No. 3 doubles position with Chisholm was able to put together six victories, including four straight to start Pac-12 play.
DOUBLES
1. #71
Jena Cheng/
Alexia Petrovic, UTAH vs. #69 Julia Eshet/Shweta Sangwan, ORE – 6-6 (5-3) Abandoned
2. #88 Rifanty Kahfiani/Alyssa Tobita, ORE def.
Taylor Calton/
Whitney Turley, UTAH – 6-3
3. Julia Lilien/Paiton Wagner, ORE def.
Brianna Chisholm/
Victoria Robertson, UTAH – 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 1
SINGLES
1. #43 Alyssa Tobita, ORE vs. #122
Alexia Petrovic, UTAH – 7-6 (4), 1-1 Abandoned
2. Shweta Sangwan, ORE vs.
Brianna Chisholm, UTAH – 6-2, 4-4 Abandoned
3. Julia Lilien, ORE vs.
Jena Cheng, UTAH – 6-4, 5-5 Abandoned
4. Daniela Nasser, ORE def.
Taylor Calton, UTAH – 2-0 (6-1, 6-2)
5. Julia Eshet, ORE def.
Whitney Turley, UTAH – 2-0 (6-2, 6-4)
6. Paiton Wagner, ORE def.
Victoria Robertson, UTAH – 2-0 (6-4, 6-2)
Order of finish: 4, 6, 5