April 30, 2011

LARAMIE, Wyo. -

• 2011 Mountain West Tennis Championships Central
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The second-seeded and 55th-ranked Utah women's tennis team won its first-ever Mountain West Women's Tennis Championship with a 4-1 win over fourth-seeded and 71st-ranked TCU on Saturday at the UW Indoor Tennis Complex.

Utah took the doubles point for a 1-0 lead. The Utes' No. 1 doubles team of Anastasia Putilina and Paige Miles defeated Katariina Tuohimaa and Maria Babanova, 8-2, but TCU's tandem of Federica Denti and Olivia Smith tied it up with an 8-6 win over Evgenia Kryuchkova and Lexi Provancha at No. 2 doubles. Sarah Pham and Lucia Kovarickova secured the point for Utah with an 8-6 win over Idunn Hertzberg and Gaby Mastromarino at the third position.

Denti claimed the first singles victory of the match, cruising to a 6-1, 6-1 decision over Kovarcikova at the No. 4 spot to even the match at 1-1. Pham put the Utes up 2-1 with a two-set win over Mastromarino (6-2, 6-1) at No. 3 singles, before Putilina, the MW Player of the Year award recipient, helped Utah jump out to a 3-1 advantage with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Tuohimaa at the top of the singles lineup.

In the deciding match of the 2011 MW Women's Championship, Kryuchkova defeated Smith in straight sets, 7-6 (8), 6-2, to secure Utah's first Conference tournament title.

The Utes earn the league's automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Women's Tennis Championship. The rest of the 64-team field will be announced live on ESPNEWS Tuesday, May 3, between 3-4 p.m. MT.

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#4 TCU Horned Frogs vs #2 Utah Utes
Apr 30, 2011 at Laramie, Wyo.
(UW Indoor Tennis Complex)
#55 #2 Utah Utes 4, #71 #4 TCU Horned Frogs 1

Singles competition
1. Anastasia Putilina (UTAH) def. Katariina Tuohimaa (TCU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Evgenia Kryuchkova (UTAH) def. Olivia Smith (TCU) 7-6 (10-8), 6-2
3. Sarah Pham (UTAH) def. Gaby Mastromarino (TCU) 6-2, 6-1
4. Federica Denti (TCU) def. Lucia Kovarcikova (UTAH) 6-1, 6-1
5. Paige Miles (UTAH) vs. Idunn Hertzberg (TCU) 6-0, 3-2, unfinished
6. Lexi Provancha (UTAH) vs. Shalini Sahoo (TCU) 6-5, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. #89 Anastasia Putilina/Paige Miles (UTAH) def. Katariina Tuohimaa/Maria Babanova (TCU) 8-2
2. Federica Denti/Olivia Smith (TCU) def. Evgenia Kryuchkova/Lexi Provancha (UTAH) 8-6
3. Sarah Pham/Lucia Kovarcikova (UTAH) def. Idunn Hertzberg/Gaby Mastromarino (TCU) 8-6

Match Notes:
#4 TCU Horned Frogs (13-11, 5-3 MW); National ranking #71
#2 Utah Utes (16-9, 7-1 MW); National ranking #55