The University of Utah women’s tennis team is set to host Brigham Young University (BYU) in a match on Saturday, March 7, at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center in Salt Lake City. The match will begin at noon. Utah enters the contest ranked No. 51 in the ITA polls, while BYU holds the No. 46 spot.
Utah currently has a 6-5 record for the season and remains undefeated at home with a 5-0 record, despite recent losses on the road that have left them 0-2 in Big 12 conference play.
BYU comes into this matchup after suffering two consecutive losses as they started their conference schedule—falling 4-1 to UCF and 4-0 to Houston. Gracie Levelston earned BYU’s only point against UCF by defeating Olivia Bergler 6-2, 6-3 at the No. 1 singles position. Doubles partners YuYun Chen and Kendall Novick have achieved a combined record of 5-3 this season.
In singles competition, Sage Bergeson leads BYU with a record of 9-3 but has lost her last two matches during conference play. Bella Lewis has also contributed with a strong performance at positions five and six, compiling a record of 9-2.
The Utes’ lineup includes returning seniors Dylan Lolofie, Kaila Barksdale, and Emma Valletta; juniors Sara Akid and Emma Kamper; sophomore Hayley Roberts; as well as newcomers Emmie Moore and Kamea Medora (transfers), and true freshmen Andjelija Markovic and Hailey Kerker.
In their most recent matches, Utah faced defeats against Houston (4-3) and UCF (4-0). Against Houston, Utah fell behind early in doubles but managed three singles wins from Emma Kamper (No.1), Sara Akid (No.3), and Kaila Barksdale (No.4). The deciding point came when Emmie Moore was narrowly defeated by Chems Doha Zeghlouli in three sets at the No.2 position.
Against UCF on February 28, Utah again dropped the doubles point before losing straight-set singles matches at positions five, six, and two.
Leading the team this season is head coach Ruth Ann Allen: “The Utah women’s tennis team welcomed Ruth Ann Allen as head coach this past season. A Utah native and a Utah All-American and Hall of Famer, Allen returns to lead the program after a successful tenure as head coach at Weber State. She guided the Wildcats to a Big Sky Championship in 2023 and was twice named Big Sky Coach of the Year (2022, 2023).
Before Weber State, Allen spent 20 seasons as an assistant coach at Utah, where she helped the Utes secure multiple NCAA Tournament bids, two Mountain West Conference titles, and numerous top-five regional rankings. Allen, an All-American during her playing career at Utah, was inducted into the Utah Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 2023.”
After facing BYU this weekend, Utah will travel to Saint George for a nonconference match against Utah Tech Trailblazers on March 9.
