The Weber State University women’s tennis team lost its opening match of Big Sky Conference against Northern Arizona University 7-0. The matches were held at the Ogden Athletic Club last Saturday afternoon.
To open the day tournament, the Wildcats lost all three double matches, and the Lumberjacks took an early advantage over WSU.
In singles play, Brittiny Moore (No.1), Ashley Tanner (No. 2) and Thais Kurer (No. 6) all won their first set, but in each match, Northern Arizona rallied to win in three sets.
Moore said she felt she was close getting the win in her singles match against Ghizelene Doballah.
“I think individually I played great. I just needed a few shots here and there to go my way, and I would have won,” Moore said. “I need to work on pressure points and putting those shots away, but I played my heart out, and it showed I believe.”
The Lumberjacks took the No. 3 through five matches, each in straight-sets as well, earning the 7-0 sweep.
Despite the loss, Moore said she felt the team played hard but just came up short against the Lumberjacks.
“I honestly have never seen us girls have so much fight on the court,” Moore said. “Every player put their entire heart on the court and it showed. We fought and did not stop ever. We played for each other out there, and it really showed with how we played.”
She said even though the score was 7-0, every individual match just came down to points, and it was a lot closer than the score indicated.
“It came down to a few points here and there,” Moore said, “where if they would have gone our way we would have won the match. Every person out there fought their heart out. It was definitely great.”
In doubles play, Malia Wahinepio and Nicole Perez of NAU defeated the team of Moore and Tanner 8-6. Hannah Stone and Johanna Vang knocked off the WSU team of Michelle Warwick and Nittaya Phonharath 8-2. The Lumberjacks closed out the doubles play with Doballah and Alice Pacaut beating Carly Lloyd and Kurer 8-6.
Moore said she was happy to see the team fight hard. While not winning any matches, she said everyone played hard and challenged NAU.
“I loved the fight everyone had. It was my favorite part,” Moore said. “I think when it came down to it, though, we need to be able to close out those matches on those crucial points, and when we do that, then it will all come together for us.”
Moore said NAU has always been a tough team to play and always been a tough competition in conference play.
“I think that they played tough,” Moore said. “We put up a good fight, though, and really showed them we are competitors this year. That team does deserve a lot of respect, though.”
WSU continues without a win this season, falling to 0-9, while NAU improved to 3-5 on the year and 2-0 in Big Sky matches.
