Women’s tennis drop their Big Sky lead to Sac State

By Brandon Cline, Sports Editor

The EWU women’s tennis team finds itself in the middle of a drought, going 0-4 since a dominant 7-0 win over Whitworth on Feb. 27. The team currently sits at 3-3 in Big Sky play after initially starting the conference season with three-straight wins.

The Eagles fell to Sacramento State, 1-6, in Sacramento, California, March 20, with EWU’s only match win coming from freshman Faye Worrall in the sixth singles spot. Worrall dropped the first set, 5-7, before storming back to take the second set, 6-2, and then winning the super tiebreaker, 10-5, over the Hornets’ Sofia Wicker.

EWU’s California tour continued March 22, where they fell to non-conference foe UC Davis, 2-5. Worrall picked up her second victory of the road trip, comfortably defeating Kamila Kecki, 6-3, 6-0, in the fifth singles spot. Janaya Smith was the other solitary victor for the Eagles, picking up an impressive, 6-2, 6-2, win over Lani-Rae Green in the first singles spot.

The trip concluded March 23, where the Eagles fell in a tight 3-4 contest against San Francisco. The Eagles picked up the coveted doubles point after the second and third doubles team both won their sets, including a tight 7-6(3) set win for the team of senior Moira Hedberg and sophomore Rachel Swindell.

Worrall was one of two EWU players to win their singles match, defeating Shanna Dos Santos, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, in another tight three-set match. Worrall finished the road trip 3-0, improving her singles record to 11-5 on the season.

Junior Dani Young had EWU’s other singles win against San Francisco, defeating Jiayu Mu in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. Young also paired with junior Katrina Domingo to pick up a 6-2 doubles win in the third doubles spot.

The Eagles close out the season with five doubles matches, including home matches against Southern Utah on April 3 and Portland State on April 10. The Eagles’ 3-3 conference record is tied for fifth-place in the Big Sky, along with three other teams.

“We have some important matches coming up to finish the season and we are definitely going to keep working hard,” said head coach Dustin Hinson. “We are confident and know what we are capable of. Now it’s just a matter of trusting our abilities and executing.”