The Cowgirls tennis team finished 2-0 over the weekend with a 5-2 victory over the Idaho Vandals on Friday afternoon and then coming back on Saturday morning with a 7-0 victory over the Hastings College Lady Broncos.
“The first time we played Idaho, they didn’t have their number one singles player,” head coach Dean Clower said. “Today, they did and so we knew it was going to be a battle going in. We were ready to play, so kudos to the ladies for being ready to go.”
Wyoming earned hard fought doubles points by winning two of the three matches. The duo of Elisa Koonik and Tessa Van Der Ploeg dropped a 6-4 contest against Mariana Petrei and Lucia Badillos. Miranda Talbert and Magdalena Stencel were able to even it back up as they knocked off Jessica Brzozowska and Claire Yang, 6-2. It came down to the final match between Dorottya Jonas and Ana Tkachenko and they were able to outlast Maria Tavares and Ana Batiri in a close match, 7-5.
It was a battle in singles, but the Cowgirls were able to win four out of six matches. Jonas earned the second point of the day for the Cowgirls defeating Brzozowska, 6-1, 6-2. The Vandals were able to earn their first point of the day with Petrei defeating Stencel, 6-0, 6-4. van Der Ploeg was able to win a tough match over Badillos, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, but Idaho closed the score to 3-2 with Tavares earning a three set win, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 over Milka Genkova. But after that win, UW was able to come back and clinch the match with a two set win, 6-1, 6-3, by Tkachenko and a win by Koonik over Batiri, 6-1, 7-5.
“I think the match today also showed how deep of a team we are,” Clower said. “We have eight individuals that will get after it, you won’t get an easy line anywhere in either singles or doubles. It’s fun to see every day everyone getting after it, it makes us a tough team to beat.”
The Cowgirls would get back to action on Saturday morning as the faced the Lady Broncos. UW cruised to vitory over a defeated Lady Broncos team, 7-0.
“It’s always great to pick up a pair of wins at home,” Clower said following Saturday’s match. “I feel like we are continuing to get better at the details on the court especially in doubles. The ladies need to rest up and be ready to play Iowa State on the road next week.”
In doubles action, the Cowgirls dominated by winning all three matches. Stencel and Genkova defeated Sarah Knight and Bailey Christy 6-0, followed by a win by van Der Ploeg and Koonik over Kelsey Brown and Madison Fortunat, 6-0. UW wrapped up doubles play with Tkachenko and Miranda Talbert defeated Alexa Obermier and Brenna Obermier, 6-0. UW did not drop a single set in all three of their doubles matches.
Four Cowgirls won in straight sets as the momentum continued. Genkova defeated Fortunato 6-0, 6-0. Koonik won in straight sets over Brenna Obermier, 6-0, 6-0. Tkachenko defeated Knight, 6-0, 6-0, and to end the straight set barrage Talbert defeated Christy, 6-0, 6-0. The only players to drop games for the Cowgirls were Stencel and van Der Ploeg. Stencel defeated Brown, 6-0, 6-1, while van Der Ploeg defeated Alexa Obermier, 6-1, 6-1, to end the day.
Wyoming will return to the courts on Friday against the Iowa State Cyclones. The match is set to begin at 2 p.m. in Ames, Iowa.
