Friday, April 2
USAFA
10:00 am MT
Air Force Academy
4
vs
2
Wyoming
Women’s Tennis Rallies To 4-2 Win Over Wyoming
4/2/2021 2:11:00 PM | Women's Tennis
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - Air Force women's tennis (10-3, 2-1 MW) rallied back to defeat Wyoming (6-6, 0-2 MW), 4-2, Friday afternoon in a Mountain West dual at the Outdoor Tennis Courts. The Falcons came back from a 2-1 deficit for its second-straight conference win.
The Falcons won the doubles point and went 3-2 in singles to claim the win.
Air Force opened with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. After Meredith Jones and Ksenia Vasilyev fell at No. 1 to Maria Oreshkina and Noesjka Brink 6-4, the Falcons rallied.
Sydney Fitch and Mebeli Becerra won at No. 3 over Mihaela Kraftanova and Ida Krause 6-4. Alex Kuo and Isabella Flodin clinched the match with the 6-4 win at No. 2 over Ana Fernandez and Sophie Zehender.
The Falcons dropped the first two singles matches to fall behind 2-1. Becerra fell at No. 5 to Brink 6-1, 6-1 and Shailla Alda fell at No. 4 to Lucia Malinak 6-4, 6-4.
A 3-0 run followed as the Falcons rallied back for the win. Sydney Fitch tied the match up with a win at No. 2 over Sophie Zehender 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. Meredith Jones won at No. 1 in three sets over Oreshkina 7-5, 3-6, 7-5.
Kuo capped the match in dramatic fashion, rallying back to win at No. 3 over Fernandez 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (6). Kuo trailed 6-1 in the third set tiebreaker before scoring the next six points to win 8-6. Hailsey Stelse had the lead at No. 6 over Krause 6-4, 5-7, 5-4 before Kuo finished the match with the win at No. 3.
Quote from head coach Kim Gidley:
"Wow – what a match! Anytime we play Wyoming, it is always a dog fight. This match was no exception. They are always well coached, well disciplined, and have a team of fighters. In order for our team to win, they had to fight, fight, fight. It may not of been our best tennis, but it sure was one of the greatest team efforts I have seen. In the doubles, Isabella Flodin and Alex Kuo came back from a 0-3 deficit to come back and clinch the doubles point, as Sydney Fitch and Mebeli Becerra won first for the Falcons at no. 3 doubles. In the singles, Wyoming came out and won the first sets at No. 2, 3, 4, and 5 and their No. 1 was up 4-0 in the first set before Meredith Jones stormed back to win the first set. That really was a huge momentum switch for the team, as No. 2 and 3 singles each came back to win the second set to set the tone for the rest of the match. After losing the second set and down 5-4 in the third set, Meredith clinched the win as Sydney Fitch stormed back to win the third set 6-1. Those two matches gave the team a 3-2 lead with two matches left in the third set. In the end, it was Alex Kuo who dove for a ball when she was down 5 match points in the third set tie-breaker. That diving save help Al come back and win 8-6 in the tie-break and she broke a string on match point to win the match for her team. It was definitely exciting."
Air Force returns to action Saturday, April 10, against UNLV in a neutral-site dual in San Diego.
Wyoming vs. Air Force
Doubles
Meredith Jones/Ksenia Vasilyev (AF) def. TILLITT, Naya/LOMBERA, Renata (USU) 6-2
Alex Kuo/Isabella Flodin (AF) def. DEKKERS, Gabrielle/RYAN, Zara (USU) 6-2
COUNTY, Annaliese/MILLAN, Carolina (USU) def. Mebeli Becerra/Sydney Fitch (AF) 4-3
Order: 1, 3, 2
Singles
Meredith Jones (AF) def. Oreshkina, Maria (WYO) 7-5, 3-6, 7-5
Sydney Fitch (AF) def. Zehender, Sophie (WYO) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
Alex Kuo (AF) def. Fernandez, Ana (WYO) 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (8-6)
Malinak, Lucia (WYO) def. Shailla Alda (AF) 6-4, 6-4
Brink, Noesjka (WYO) def. Mebeli Becerra (AF) 6-1, 6-1
Hailey Stelse (AF) vs. Krause, Ida (WYO) 6-4, 5-7, 5-4, unfinished
Order: 5, 4, 2, 1, 3
The Falcons won the doubles point and went 3-2 in singles to claim the win.
Air Force opened with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. After Meredith Jones and Ksenia Vasilyev fell at No. 1 to Maria Oreshkina and Noesjka Brink 6-4, the Falcons rallied.
Sydney Fitch and Mebeli Becerra won at No. 3 over Mihaela Kraftanova and Ida Krause 6-4. Alex Kuo and Isabella Flodin clinched the match with the 6-4 win at No. 2 over Ana Fernandez and Sophie Zehender.
The Falcons dropped the first two singles matches to fall behind 2-1. Becerra fell at No. 5 to Brink 6-1, 6-1 and Shailla Alda fell at No. 4 to Lucia Malinak 6-4, 6-4.
A 3-0 run followed as the Falcons rallied back for the win. Sydney Fitch tied the match up with a win at No. 2 over Sophie Zehender 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. Meredith Jones won at No. 1 in three sets over Oreshkina 7-5, 3-6, 7-5.
Kuo capped the match in dramatic fashion, rallying back to win at No. 3 over Fernandez 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (6). Kuo trailed 6-1 in the third set tiebreaker before scoring the next six points to win 8-6. Hailsey Stelse had the lead at No. 6 over Krause 6-4, 5-7, 5-4 before Kuo finished the match with the win at No. 3.
Quote from head coach Kim Gidley:
"Wow – what a match! Anytime we play Wyoming, it is always a dog fight. This match was no exception. They are always well coached, well disciplined, and have a team of fighters. In order for our team to win, they had to fight, fight, fight. It may not of been our best tennis, but it sure was one of the greatest team efforts I have seen. In the doubles, Isabella Flodin and Alex Kuo came back from a 0-3 deficit to come back and clinch the doubles point, as Sydney Fitch and Mebeli Becerra won first for the Falcons at no. 3 doubles. In the singles, Wyoming came out and won the first sets at No. 2, 3, 4, and 5 and their No. 1 was up 4-0 in the first set before Meredith Jones stormed back to win the first set. That really was a huge momentum switch for the team, as No. 2 and 3 singles each came back to win the second set to set the tone for the rest of the match. After losing the second set and down 5-4 in the third set, Meredith clinched the win as Sydney Fitch stormed back to win the third set 6-1. Those two matches gave the team a 3-2 lead with two matches left in the third set. In the end, it was Alex Kuo who dove for a ball when she was down 5 match points in the third set tie-breaker. That diving save help Al come back and win 8-6 in the tie-break and she broke a string on match point to win the match for her team. It was definitely exciting."
Air Force returns to action Saturday, April 10, against UNLV in a neutral-site dual in San Diego.
Wyoming vs. Air Force
Doubles
Meredith Jones/Ksenia Vasilyev (AF) def. TILLITT, Naya/LOMBERA, Renata (USU) 6-2
Alex Kuo/Isabella Flodin (AF) def. DEKKERS, Gabrielle/RYAN, Zara (USU) 6-2
COUNTY, Annaliese/MILLAN, Carolina (USU) def. Mebeli Becerra/Sydney Fitch (AF) 4-3
Order: 1, 3, 2
Singles
Meredith Jones (AF) def. Oreshkina, Maria (WYO) 7-5, 3-6, 7-5
Sydney Fitch (AF) def. Zehender, Sophie (WYO) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
Alex Kuo (AF) def. Fernandez, Ana (WYO) 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (8-6)
Malinak, Lucia (WYO) def. Shailla Alda (AF) 6-4, 6-4
Brink, Noesjka (WYO) def. Mebeli Becerra (AF) 6-1, 6-1
Hailey Stelse (AF) vs. Krause, Ida (WYO) 6-4, 5-7, 5-4, unfinished
Order: 5, 4, 2, 1, 3
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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