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Show DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE Tuesday, June 4, 2013 7 WOMENS TENNIS WOMENS Utah loses out on tourney bid Continued from page 6 Somali immigrant women through an outreach program. "We got to learn so much from the women and about their lives," Wicijowski said, adding that some of the women they met have started their own catering business. The team also got to mix basketball and the cultural experience when it hosted a basketball clinic for children in Denmark. The camp focused more on having fun than drills and fundamentals. "Years down the road we will remember this as a great experience for us," Wicijowski said. Ryan Miller STAFF WRITER Playing in the conference that wound up producing the singles, doubles and team NCAA champions, the 2013 Utah women's tennis team faced a challenge every time it stepped on the court. The Utes battled to an overall record of 11-9 and a 5-5 record and sixth place finish in Pac-12 play. Utah was coming off a season which saw it make the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year and win the program's first ever NCAA Tournament match. With that success as a backdrop, the Utes entered the season ranked No. 34 in the nation. "We had a goal to once again make the NCAA Tournament as a team and to beat the [Pac-12] California schools," junior Callie Craig said. In a nine-day stretch in March, the Utes faced No 5. UCLA, No. 7 USC, No. 13 Cal and No. 15 Stanford. A victory in any of the four matches would have helped solidify Utah's place as a top program in the conference and aid their quest for an NCAA bid, but they lost all four and were swept in three of the matches. "I don't think we were mentally prepared for those matches," Craig said. "Everyone talks about [being prepared] afterwards, but it wasn't much help at that point." Utah fell to No. 69 in the nation after the California road trip. Though disappointed with their effort and the results against the top teams in the conference, the Utes continued to fight and won four of their last six matches of the season. "One of the highlights of the year is that we always worked together as a team," Craig said. "We worked together to accomplish things as a d.garcia@ chronicle.utah.edu The Daily Utah Chronicle File Photo ]Junior Sarah Pham during a game on March 10. Pham finished as one of the top eight players at this year's Pac-12 Championships. team, not just individuals." Utah was paced all year by strong singles play from sophomore Tereza Bekerova and junior Sarah Pham. Bekerova, a transfer from Stephen E Austin, joined the Utes in the fall and by the end of the season had taken hold of the No.1 singles position. She finished with a 7-6 record from that spot and was named honorable mention on the All Pac-12 team. Pham also garnered honorable mention honors, as she went 9-7 during the spring season playing primar- ily at the No. 2 position. Pham capped off the year by making it to the quarterfinals of singles play at the Pac-12 Championships. Along with Pham, other Utes fared well at the Pac-12 Tournament. Bekerova advanced to the round of 16 in championship singles and she also partnered with teammate Paige Miles to advance to the round of 16 in championship doubles. Utah climbed back up the rankings, finishing the season No. 55 in the country, but the end of the year success was not enough to earn it an invitation back to the NCAA Tournament. Though the team failed to meet its goals this year, the Utes will return all their players next year and will go into next season with the confidence they can compete against the best teams in the conference and return to the NCAA Tournament. "We have the talent to compete in the conference," Craig said. "I know we're good enough." r.miller@chronicle.utah.edu University MEDIA SALES GROUP 11 TM THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH 3 2 ANSWER TO TODAY'S PUZZLE POE END JUG SE 0 14 H ME I-1 -' 1 PENS SCRAMS AR IA THEMET WINSBYANOSE SEAS SA MEI MIN -H e L,_t_, I (c) ,4 10I 111111 k4 10 -1 111111 4► DENN TC TS ELAND SQUAT T IP NOTWOSOUNDAL IKE CPU CUT I E KEVIN HE ES TES T G LO OS E SEUP IRA YOUCANT LOS E CAL AFRAME ANTE ELK STORES TSAR I = 1 ,4 1I l 7 5 9 1 9 6 4 7 8 6 9 4 4 7 5 3 2 8 1 6 3 9 8 3 1 2 8 4 62 4 1 popculturecomics com © Doug Bratton 2008 Amon_ ARAkkh. ■ REM ER Garfield loves lasagna too much. Diversions Sponsored By: Universi FEDERAL CREDIT UNION rTh Tuesday Special: 99t 1/4 lb Hamburgers! Map oil day long with purchaca of Fries, drink, onion rings, or zucchini Friar,. (1 per purchase) Since 1981 University Location 222 S. 1300 E. • 582-7200 Also at: 7800 S. State • 255-5900 |