March 8, 2013

PROVO, Utah -

Arizona women's tennis (8-6, 0-1) fell to No. 74 Utah (7-2, 1-0), 5-2, on Friday afternoon at the Eccles Tennis Center to start the Pac-12 conference schedule.

“This was certainly a tough loss for the team,” Arizona head coach Vicky Maes said. “We fought hard to win it in the singles after losing the doubles point, but couldn't close enough matches.”

Utah swept the doubles round to lead Arizona, 1-0, heading into singles.

Arizona went down 2-0 after Utah took the match at the No. 1 spot.

The remaining five matches would all be decided in three sets.

“In singles we have had a chance to win every match this season,” Maes said.

UA juniors Kim Stubbe (Mol, Belgium) and Susan Mc Rann (Dublin, Ireland) won their singles matches to tie the match at two apiece.

After dropping the first set, Stubbe won the next two, 6-4, 6-2, over Sarah Pham at the No. 2 spot.

Mc Rann evened the score after defeating Paige Miles, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.                                  

However, Arizona's comeback fell short after dropping close matches at the No. 4 and 3 singles spot.

“It's frustrating to keep losing these close ones,” Maes said. “We battled hard and for that I am very proud of our group. We are young and show some inexperience from time to time, but I believe in our girls and I know we can turn things around.”

Up Next: Arizona travels to Boulder, Colo., to face the 5-6 Colorado Buffaloes on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. MST.

For complete results and continued coverage of Arizona women's tennis, visit the Arizona women's tennis page on Facebook or ArizonaWildcats.com. For live updates on this weekend's matches, follow @ArizonaWTennis on Twitter.

No. 75 Utah 5, Arizona 2

Doubles

1. #17 Bekerova/Miles def. Smyth/Stubbe, 6-5(3)

2. Smith/Najera-Salas def. Austin/Hendrix, 8-3

3. Craig/Pham def. McRann/James, 8-3

Order of Finish: 3,2,1

Singles

 1. #79 Tereza Bekerova def. No. 34 Lacey Smyth, 6-2, 6-4

2. Kim Stubbe def. Sarah Pham, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3

3. Callie Craig def. Laura Oldham, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4

4. Natasha Smith def. Akilah James, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4

5. Lucia Kovarcikova def. Shayne Austin, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5

6. Susan McRann def. Paige Miles, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3

Order of Finish: 1, 2, 6, 4, 3*, 5