Saturday, April 8
USAFA, Colo.
1:30 PM MT
Air Force Academy
4
vs
2
Utah State
Women’s Tennis Claims Challenging Senior Day Victory Over Utah State
4/8/2023 7:16:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Box Score
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – In fitting fashion, it was senior Courtney Swift who clinched a 4-2 victory for the Air Force women's tennis team over Utah State on Saturday afternoon, earning the Falcons their fifth-straight win on a day when the Air Force athletic program was honoring its 2023 graduating class in front of an electric crowd at the USAFA tennis courts.
Swift, after splitting a pair of 6-2 decisions in the opening two sets with Utah State's Laura Fernando Eugenio de Hilario, took a 4-1 lead in the third before Hilario stormed back into the contest to tie at 4-all and ultimately hang on all the way into the tiebreaker.
Swift got out to an early 4-1 lead in the tiebreak before Hilario once again responded, playing her Falcon opponent to 6-6 before Swift was able to take the final two points to clinch a 7-6 final set and secure the clinching point for Air Force.
Utah State (5-11, 0-6 MW) did not give up a single inch to the Falcons throughout the day, as it took a pair of 6-4 wins on courts two (Abby Cotuna/Isabella Flodin) and three (Swift/Arianna Van Houweling) to claim their sixth-straight doubles point and 14th of the dual season. Up 5-4 on court three and down 30-0 on the deciding court, Swift/Van Houweling rallied back to secure the doubles point and improve to 4-1 on the season.
Cotuna/Flodin's win on line two awarded the duo with their third-consecutive win and tenth of the season.
After falling in straight sets on courts two and three, Cotuna managed to even things out once again for the Falcons, claiming a 6-4, 6-3 win on court five, earning her fifth-straight win, and third-consecutive in straight sets to improve to 6-4.
Van Houweling earned Air Force its third point of the day, winning out in a three-set fight on line six against Utah State's Annaliese County on the way to a 12-5 dual singles record and her fifth-straight win to push a 3-2 Air Force lead.
Seniors Sydney Fitch (court one) and Swift (court four) remained as the match entered its third hour. Fitch, into her third set against Zeynep Naz Ozturk, stormed back from a 4-1 deficit with three-straight game wins to tie, and just trailed 5-4 before Swift clinched her match to secure the Falcon win.
From Coach Gidley:
"Wow, what an amazing senior day, and what a way for our seniors to compete. It started off with No. 3 doubles left on the court to decide the point. It was our senior (Courtney Swift) and our freshmen (Arianna Van Houweling) that clinched the match 6-4 for the doubles point. So far the team is 6-0 in the conference for winning doubles points.
"Then it was a full out battle in the singles, for one reason or another, we tend to have epic matches with Utah State, and today certainly was no exception Their team gets fired up and competes hard, and it was certainly a battle for sure.
"It was only fitting that the last two matches left on the court were our two seniors. Sydney was down 4-1 in the third set and stormed back to get to 4-5 before the match was halted because Courtney finished her business on court four.
"Courtney went down 6-5 and brought the match to the tiebreaker in the third. As a college player, this is a moment you constantly work toward. Swift was a true champion, saving a match point in the tiebreaker to win it 8-6.
"As a coach, you love to see your team storm the court and play for each other. This group is special. The hug at the end between our two seniors for me is what college tennis is all about. The team is in Air Power April and will continue to fight. It was also very special that so many cadets, commanders, instructors, family members, and alumni came to the match to cheer the team onto victory today."
Up Next:
Air Force women's tennis plays its remaining four Mountain West contests on the road, with its next stop in San Jose, Calif. to face Nevada (Apr. 14) and San Jose State (Apr. 15).
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – In fitting fashion, it was senior Courtney Swift who clinched a 4-2 victory for the Air Force women's tennis team over Utah State on Saturday afternoon, earning the Falcons their fifth-straight win on a day when the Air Force athletic program was honoring its 2023 graduating class in front of an electric crowd at the USAFA tennis courts.
Swift, after splitting a pair of 6-2 decisions in the opening two sets with Utah State's Laura Fernando Eugenio de Hilario, took a 4-1 lead in the third before Hilario stormed back into the contest to tie at 4-all and ultimately hang on all the way into the tiebreaker.
Swift got out to an early 4-1 lead in the tiebreak before Hilario once again responded, playing her Falcon opponent to 6-6 before Swift was able to take the final two points to clinch a 7-6 final set and secure the clinching point for Air Force.
Utah State (5-11, 0-6 MW) did not give up a single inch to the Falcons throughout the day, as it took a pair of 6-4 wins on courts two (Abby Cotuna/Isabella Flodin) and three (Swift/Arianna Van Houweling) to claim their sixth-straight doubles point and 14th of the dual season. Up 5-4 on court three and down 30-0 on the deciding court, Swift/Van Houweling rallied back to secure the doubles point and improve to 4-1 on the season.
Cotuna/Flodin's win on line two awarded the duo with their third-consecutive win and tenth of the season.
After falling in straight sets on courts two and three, Cotuna managed to even things out once again for the Falcons, claiming a 6-4, 6-3 win on court five, earning her fifth-straight win, and third-consecutive in straight sets to improve to 6-4.
Van Houweling earned Air Force its third point of the day, winning out in a three-set fight on line six against Utah State's Annaliese County on the way to a 12-5 dual singles record and her fifth-straight win to push a 3-2 Air Force lead.
Seniors Sydney Fitch (court one) and Swift (court four) remained as the match entered its third hour. Fitch, into her third set against Zeynep Naz Ozturk, stormed back from a 4-1 deficit with three-straight game wins to tie, and just trailed 5-4 before Swift clinched her match to secure the Falcon win.
From Coach Gidley:
"Wow, what an amazing senior day, and what a way for our seniors to compete. It started off with No. 3 doubles left on the court to decide the point. It was our senior (Courtney Swift) and our freshmen (Arianna Van Houweling) that clinched the match 6-4 for the doubles point. So far the team is 6-0 in the conference for winning doubles points.
"Then it was a full out battle in the singles, for one reason or another, we tend to have epic matches with Utah State, and today certainly was no exception Their team gets fired up and competes hard, and it was certainly a battle for sure.
"It was only fitting that the last two matches left on the court were our two seniors. Sydney was down 4-1 in the third set and stormed back to get to 4-5 before the match was halted because Courtney finished her business on court four.
"Courtney went down 6-5 and brought the match to the tiebreaker in the third. As a college player, this is a moment you constantly work toward. Swift was a true champion, saving a match point in the tiebreaker to win it 8-6.
"As a coach, you love to see your team storm the court and play for each other. This group is special. The hug at the end between our two seniors for me is what college tennis is all about. The team is in Air Power April and will continue to fight. It was also very special that so many cadets, commanders, instructors, family members, and alumni came to the match to cheer the team onto victory today."
Up Next:
Air Force women's tennis plays its remaining four Mountain West contests on the road, with its next stop in San Jose, Calif. to face Nevada (Apr. 14) and San Jose State (Apr. 15).
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
#1 Singles Match
1234
Zeynep Naz Ozturk / 0 [USU]
4650
634UF
#2 Singles Match
12
Lisa Kung / 0 [USU]
67
05
#3 Singles Match
12
Monique Burton / 0 [USU]
66
12
#4 Singles Match
123
Laura F E De Hilario / 0 [USU]
266
627
#5 Singles Match
12
Maggie Nunez Pureco / 0 [USU]
43
66
#6 Singles Match
123
Annaliese County / 0 [USU]
374
656
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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