The Emporia State women’s tennis team ran into a buzzsaw against No. 1 BYU-Hawaii on Wednesday, losing 5-0 to the Seasiders to end the Lady Hornets’ season at the NCAA Sweet 16 in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
ESU dropped all three singles matches and then the No. 3 and 5 singles bouts to see its season come to a close.
“Our girls competed really well,” ESU coach John Cayton said. “They showed heart, determination, tenacity in the face of a lot more firepower on the other side of the net.”
BYUH is the defending national champion and has won four of the last five NCAA titles. The Seasiders improved their mark to a perfect 30-0, which includes three Division-I victories this season.
“I talked to a lot of the other coaches about this team, and apparently that’s the best team they’ve had in several years,” Cayton said. “They’re basically saying they’re a top 10 Division-I team. That’s how good this BYU-Hawaii women’s team is this year.”
Still, ESU wasn’t totally shut out in the scoring.
Both the No. 1 doubles team of Lacey Luina and Natalie Villaflor and also the No. 3 duo of Audrey Sherman and Molly Bowman fell 8-2 in doubles, meaning they managed to scratch out a couple points against the best of the best in D-II.
Sherman fell 6-2, 6-1 in No. 5 singles, while Luina dropped her No. 3 singles’ match 6-0, 6-1.
It was the final outing for Karly Schultz and Luina, the two graduating seniors on the squad.
“I was proud of them,” Cayton said. “They fought their heart out. When you’re facing that level of competition — it was just too much for us today.”
Because her match was not completed at No. 4 singles, Schultz remained undefeated this season in singles play.
She also was undefeated in doubles this season with No. 2 partner Marcela Bayon before their 8-0 loss Wednesday.
Cayton said his team wasn’t bemoaning its bad luck in the seedings. After ESU reached its first NCAA Sweet 16 ever, it was paired against the consensus No. 1 team in the tournament.
The NCAA does not re-seed teams based on their records in the Sweet 16.
“They’re all strong teams. There are no weak teams here,” Cayton said. “When you get to this level and this point in the national tournament, it’s hard.”
ESU finished with a 16-3 season. Both the women’s and men’s teams advanced the farthest they ever have in NCAA play.
“It’s been a great ride this year,” Cayton said, “and we’re looking at trying to be back next year.”
NCAA Sweet 16
Wednesday at Altamonte Springs, Fla.
#1 BYU-Hawaii 5, Emporia State 0
Doubles competition
1. Liu/Deng (BYUH) def. Villaflor/Luina (ESU) 8-2
2. Ustyuzhanina/Magas (BYUH) def. Bayon/Schultz (ESU) 8-0
3. Anikanova/Searing (BYUH) def. Sherman/Bowman (ESU) 8-2
Singles competition
1. Yuliya Ustyuzhanina (BYUH) vs. Marcela Bayon (ESU) 6-3, unfinished
2. Jing Jing Liu (BYUH) vs. Natalie Villaflor (ESU) 6-2, 1-0 unfinished
3. Dori Magas (BYUH) def. Lacey Luina (ESU) 6-0, 6-1
4. Kun Deng (BYUH) vs. Karly Schultz (ESU) 6-0, 2-1 unfinished
5. Anna Anikanova (BYUH) def. Audrey Sherman (ESU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Shenley Searing (BYUH) vs. Molly Bowman (ESU) 6-2, 1-2 unfinished
Hornets earn ITA
Regional tennis awards
The Emporia State tennis teams picked up four Regional awards from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, the group announced Wednesday.
Coach John Cayton was named the Wilson/ITA North Central Region women’s coach of the year after leading the Lady Hornets to their second MIAA Tournament championship and also the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.
Karly Schultz was named the senior player of they year in the region after going undefeated in both singles and doubles play during the regular season.
A pair of ESU athletes also won the region’s Arthur Ashe, Jr. award for leadership and sportsmanship. Senior Kevin Arnhold took the honor for the second consecutive season, while Lacey Luina won her first Ashe award.