Women’s Tennis Opens MW Championships With 4-1 Win Over Utah State

Air Force women's tennis opened the 2019 Mountain West Women's Tennis Championships with a 4-1 win over Utah State in quarterfinal action Thursday afternoon at the Aztec Tennis Center on the San Diego State campus in San Diego, Calif. The Falcons, who move on to the semifinals for the second time in three years, earned its 22nd win of the season, tying the school record and setting a new Div. I era record.

The 22 wins ties the 1991 team for the most wins in program history. The win also avenged last year's 4-3 loss to the Aggies at the 2018 MW Championship.

The Falcons opened with a pair of 6-0 shutout wins in doubles to secure the doubles point. Ashleigh Harvey and Meredith Jones won at No. 2 over Sidness Lavatai/Alexandra Pisareva 6-0. TJ Fumagalli and Kristin Kerrigan then followed at No. 1 with a 6-0 win over Hannah Jones/Alexandra Taylor.

"We made the semifinals for the second time in three years!" Air Force head coach Kim Gidley said. "This is was a huge fight by this team. We've won the doubles point in 22 of 24 matches this year. And to come out and win 6-0 at No. 1 and No. 2 just gave us great momentum heading into singles."

The Falcons went up 3-0 with back-to-back wins to start singles play. Kerrigan won at No. 4 singles over Lucy Octave, 6-3, 6-2 and Nadeen Lieberman won at No. 6 over Sidnee Lavatai 7-5, 6-3.

Utah State got on the board with a win at No. 5 singles, as Ashleigh Harvey fell to Gabrielle Dekkers 6-2, 7-5.

Meredith Jones sealed the match for the Falcons at No. 3 singles, rallying back in three sets to defeat Annaliese County 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-1.

"Utah State used its win from the day before to give all we could handle in singles," Gidley said. "Kristin and Nadeen dominated their matches to give us a big lead. Meredith lost her first set in a tie-breaker but gained control on the match, dominating the next two sets."

"This team wanted it bad today and played to win," Gidley added. "I am so proud of everyone's effort. It was just a tremendous effort and something this team is ready to do again tomorrow."

Air Force returns to action tomorrow against #3 San Diego State. The match is slated to start at 2 pm PT. Live video and live stats will be available for the match.

#7 UTAH STATE vs. #2 AIR FORCE , April 25 - Air Force 4-1
Doubles
TJ Fumagalli/Kristin Kerrigan (AF) def. Hannah Jones/Alexandra Taylor (US) 6-0
Ashleigh Harvey/Meredith Jones (AF) def. Sidnee Lavatai/Alexandra Pisareva (US) 6-0
Elizabeth Barnickel/Nadeen Lierberman (AF) vs. Annaliese County/Lucy Octave (US) 3-3, unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 1

Singles
TJ Fumagalli (AF) vs. Alexandra Pisareva (US) 1-6, 7-5, 1-0, unfinished
Elizabeth Barnickel (AF) vs. Hannah Jones (US) 4-6, 6-4, 1-5, unfinished
Meredith Jones (AF) def. Annaliese County (US) 6-7 (3-0), 6-2, 6-1
Kristin Kerrigan (AF) def. Lucy Octave (US) 6-3, 6-2
Gabrielle Dekkers (US) def. Ashleigh Harvey (AF) 6-2, 7-5
Nadeen Lieberman (AF) def. Sidnee Lavatai (US) 7-5, 6-3
Order of finish: 4, 6, 5, 3

Season Records:
Air Force: 22-2
Utah State: 12-11

Footer

The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the u.s air force of non-u.s. government sites or the information, products, or services contained therein. Although the u.s. air force may or may not use these sites as additional distribution channels for department of defense information, it does not exercise editorial control over all of the information that you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.