Dixie State University women’s tennis qualified for the Pacific West Conference championships for the first time in four years, but the Trailblazers couldn’t capitalize.
DSU came into the tournament as the No. 12 seed and opened up play April 13 against No. 5 Point Loma Nazarene University in the first round.
The Sea Lions didn’t waste any time dispatching the Trailblazers, sweeping DSU 5-0 and moving on to the quarter-finals.
DSU standouts sophomore Karolin Kukaras and freshman Lacey Hancock played PLNU the toughest but still dropped No. 1 doubles 8-4. Junior Laura Hartle and freshman Jenna Fosdick lost 8-1 in No. 2 doubles as juniors Kaylee Tarver and Samantha Yacano were swept in No. 3.
“We knew we were going to have a tough draw, but we also knew we had nothing to lose,” Yacano, a medical science major from Arvada, Colorado, said. “We put up a battle and fought until the end. We didn’t get the results we wanted but I’m very proud of my team.”
Tarver and Fosdick also dropped in No. 5 and No. 3 singles while the other matches went unfinished after the Sea Lions clinched the victory.
The loss dropped the Trailblazers into a consolation match against California State University, Stanislaus Thursday.
The Trailblazers struggled once again, getting swept 6-0. Kukaras and Hancock continued to battle in No. 1 doubles 8-4 — the same score they fell to on day one. Fosdick and Hartle went down 8-2 while Tarver and Yacano lost 8-3.
“Obviously, we would have liked to win a little more,” said Kukaras, a biology major from Heidelberg, Germany. “I’m happy that we were able to get to the conference tournament and compete, though. We have a young team, and I’m excited to get going next year.”
Hancock (6-0, 6-3), Yacano (6-3, 6-0) and Tarver (6-0, 6-1) all lost their singles matches, and the Warriors clinched the 6-0 victory. The loss dropped the Trailblazers to a 5-13 overall finish to the season.
