CHENEY, Wash. — The wins keep rolling in for Eastern Washington women's tennis as the team won its fourth-straight match on its home court. Eastern defeated Utah State, 4-3, at the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse today, with the match coming down to the final singles match where The Eagles clinched the winning point. EWU improves to 5-3 on the season, while Utah State falls to 4-3.
EWU won four-of-six singles matches to earn the home win as No. 2 singles was the deciding match.
"I'm super proud of this team and excited for them to get this success. We've been working hard at our training and getting this kind of success, on top of it, proves the work paid off. I'm excited to continue building momentum, belief and confidence," head coach Dustin Hinson said. "Winning is obviously great, but the way we're winning is really what I'm most proud of today. It takes fight and belief. There's been tough moments in each of the four matches we've won. In those moments, I feel like we've played composed and have carried great, positive energy."
The Eagles trailed 1-0 following the Aggies two wins in the doubles round at No. 2 and No. 3.
Veronika Gayevyk quickly tied the match at one, following a two-set win at the No. 4 singles. After dropping No. 1 singles, Zoe Pradel tied the match up again, earning a 7-5, 7-5 win at the No. 3 singles.
Olivia Marais made quick work of USU's Magdal Nunez Pureco at No. 6 singles (6-1, 6-0) to put Eastern up 3-2 and close to the clinching point.
The Aggies kept the match going with a win at the No. 5 singles and the score was tied at three.
At the No. 2 singles, Leandra Nizetic battled Sabina Pintea in three sets, with two tiebreakers. After dropping the first set in tie breakers 6-7 (3-7), Nizetic extended the match with a 7-5 win in set two. The two went back-and-forth in set three, with another tie breaker needed to decide the match. Nizetic emerged victorious in the match with a 7-4 win in the final tiebreaker.
Hinson continued to praise his team's performance this season, "These results are top-to-bottom from our lineup and I'm really happy with the way we're coming out and competing. Everyone has a desire to do well and to have great performances each day. The results are starting to fall in place. I'm happy for Leandra to get another clinching match against another tough opponent. We did a great job of protecting the red here at home. I'm looking forward to another good week of putting in work and being ready to protect home court again next week against Seattle."
Results
Singles
No. 1 Terezia Mlkva (USU) def. Anait Arutiunian (EWU) 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 Leandra Nizetic (EWU) def. Sabina Pintea (USU) 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 7-6 (7-4)
No. 3 Zoe Pradel (EWU) def. Natalie Paterova (USU) 7-5, 7-5
No. 4 Veronika Gayevyk (EWU) def. Maria Ramos Garcia (USU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 Chahd Tourkhani (USU) def. Aneliss Zamfirescu (EWU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 Olivia Marais (EWU) def. Magdal Nunez Pureco (USU) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 Olivia Marais / Zoe Pradel (EWU) def. Olivia Halvorsen / Magdal Nunez Pureco (USU) 6-2
No. 2 Natalie Pateroval / Terezia Mlkva (USU) def. Anait Arutiunian / Sara Vasic (EWU) 6-3
No. 3 Maria Ramos Garcia / Nabine Abid (USU) def. Maria Lopez / Leandra Nizetic (EWU) 6-3
Up Next
Eastern stays in Cheney next week for one match, hosting Seattle U on Saturday (Feb. 21), with first serve at 10 a.m.
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ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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