University of Washington
Utah
No. 23 Huskies Finish Utah Trip In Style
January 23, 2011 | Women's Tennis
Jan. 23, 2011
SALT LAKE CITY - A great team effort will be needed to handle the armful of road matches on tap for the Husky women's tennis team this year, and that's just what they got today, as 23rd-ranked Washington completed its two match swing through Utah with a 6-1 victory over the 40th-ranked Utes. Denise Dy and Venise Chan each knocked off ranked opponents in singles, but it was the lower part of the lineup that clinched the win even before UW's All-American pair wrapped up.
The Huskies improved to 2-0 on the year after having defeated BYU on Saturday. Ten of UW's first 12 matches are on the road, and this weekend should give the Huskies some confidence moving forward. Washington beat Utah in the NCAA First Round last year on a neutral site, but this win snapped a 13-match home win streak for the Utes.
After pulling out a closely contested doubles point, the Huskies got a dominating win from senior Lina Xu, who defeated Missy Harris, 6-1, 6-0 at fifth singles. Junior Samantha Smith put the Huskies up 3-0 with a 6-0, 7-5 win over Lucia Kovarcikova in the No. 3 spot.
Same as Saturday, the clinching point came from freshman Andjela Nemcevic, who shook off a 6-1 first set loss to Sarah Pham, rolling through the next two sets, 6-2, 6-2, at the fourth singles spot.
That left Chan and Dy in singles, always a good thing for the Huskies. Dy moved to the top spot today after Chan played No. 1 on Saturday. The sixth-ranked junior struggled early against 82nd-ranked Anastasia Putilina, losing the first set 6-1, but shifted the momentum into her favor, and took the second set, 7-5, and the third, 6-3. Every player knows a win over Dy could give a huge lift to their singles rankings, so the Husky has to be ready for everyone's best shot.
Chan showed again why her No. 55 ranking is deceiving. The two-time Pac-10 First Teamer improved to 4-1 in the new year and added another ranked win to her long list, defeating 60th-ranked Evgenia Kryuchkova, 7-6, 6-4.
Chan and Dy also led the way in doubles, moving to 5-0 in 2011 with an 8-5 win over the 49th-ranked duo of Putilina and Paige Miles. Chan's improved doubles play has the pair looking to break into the rankings as soon as the next batch is released. The Dawgs got the big clinching win at No. 2, where Nemcevic and Smith outlasted Kryuchkova and Kovarcikova, 9-7.
Next week the Huskies will be taking to the air again, touching down in Tallahassee, Florida where they'll be one of four teams competing in the ITA National Team Indoor Qualifying first and second rounds. They'll face 17th-ranked Texas on Saturday, Jan. 29, the team now coached by former Husky head coach Patty McCain.
Washington Women's Tennis
January 23, 2011 - Salt Lake City, Utah
Eccles Tennis Center
No. 23 Washington 6; No. 40 Utah 1
Doubles
2) Nemcevic/Smith (UW) def. Kryuchkova/Kovarcikova (Utah) 9-7
3) Harris/Pham (Utah) def. Radunovic/Krsljanin (UW) 8-5
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles
1) (6) Denise Dy (UW) def. (82) Anastasia Putilina (Utah) 1-6, 7-5, 6-3
2) (55) Venise Chan (UW) def. (60) Evgenia Kryuchkova (Utah) 7-6, 6-4
3) Samantha Smith (UW) def. Lucia Kovarcikova (Utah) 6-0, 7-5
4) Andjela Nemcevic (UW) def. Sarah Pham (Utah) 1-6, 6-2, 6-2
5) Lina Xu (UW) def. Missy Harris (Utah) 6-1, 6-0
6) Lexi Provancha (Utah) def. Vanja Radunovic (UW) 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: 5, 3, 6, 4, 1, 2
Players Mentioned
