Match Results
St. George, UT – The Academy of Art University's tennis team continued their play in Utah with a match against Mesa State on Saturday afternoon. The women were able to carry the momentum from their success yesterday into today's match. The Urban Knights came out strong from the beginning and never looked back. Powerful performances in singles and doubles play allowed the Knights to earn a big victory over Mesa with a final score of 8-1.
The match began with doubles play in which ART U immediately took control of things. Diane Phan and Amal Ben El Hadj, who have now won three consecutive matches as a doubles pair, quickly ousted their Mesa State opponents who sport a 50-14 overall collegiate record. Phan and Ben El Hadj's energy in an 8-1 victory would spur the rest of the Urban Knights to several strong performances.
“In our team meeting, we wanted to begin this match by recognizing that Mesa has very strong doubles,” Head Coach Dave Allen explained. “We wanted to make sure that we could gain control of the match early on and we accomplished that first objective by winning the doubles 2-1. Diane and Amal set the tone for the match by dominating against a very strong team. And they won 8-1. The key ingredient to their success was the energy they brought to the match today. They were playing at a high level and the rest of the team responded to that.”
Also receiving their third consecutive doubles victory was the duo of Laone "Lala" Botshoma and Kunkanda "Cartoon" Phukchampa. The two played flawless together, and came away with an 8-3 victory over their competitors. Finishing up doubles play was the team of Cecilia Hedin and Paola Correa Fe. They fought hard against their challengers, but would ultimately fall short with a score of 4-8. Mesa State looked to make a comeback at that point, but the Knights were ready and waiting in singles play.
Phukchampa started things off by competing in the No. 1 spot. She played very well against a tough competitor, and made things look easy. She won in two sets with scores of 6-4, 6-1. Botshoma followed in the No. 2 spot and battled hard against an extremely challenging opponent. After a hard fought three set match, Laone came away with a victory with scores of 6-4, 4-6, 10-8. “Laone ran into a human backboard because the girl kept getting the ball back even though Laone was hitting blistering forehands,” exclaimed Coach Allen. “When it ultimately came down to the end, Laone attacked the net at just the right time to pull off the win.”
Continuing singles play success was Ben El Hadj who easily overpowered her opponent, winning 6-1, 6-0. Phan was next in line in the No. 4 spot and sliced and diced her way through the match, taking the win for herself with scores of 6-3, 6-0. Maria Tenorio followed and stepped up in a big way for the Knights. Even as she battled a stomach ache, she still got the job done winning 6-3, 6-1. Rounding out things for ART U was Coutrney DeWalt who played some outstanding tennis for the second day in a row. DeWalt easily defeated her Mesa State challenger, winning 6-1, 6-0. “Courtney DeWalt, a freshman from southern California, stepped in with a strong showing,” added Allen. “Courtney played great, solid tennis today and that's exactly what I need to see our youngest member doing at this point in time. Courtney has spent a lot of time gaining experience through watching some of these matches and she certainly showed she can compete with the best of them.”
After the win, the Academy of Art University's record improves to 6-2 overall, while Mesa State's record falls to 6-4 overall. The Urban Knight's match tomorrow has been canceled. The Knights play next on March 18th, when they host Dixie State College. First serve is scheduled for 12:00pm at San Francisco Tennis Club.
