CEDAR CITY, Utah — After a historic season, the Southern Utah men’s tennis team ended their school record breaking season in Phoenix, Ariz. in the Big Sky Championship Tournament Quarterfinals.
In the doubles competition, Montana led out with a win in the No. 1 spot, but Southern Utah responded powerfully with wins in the No. 2 and 3 spots to take the doubles point.
Going into the singles competition, the Thunderbirds came out swinging, with Jonathan Morales winning in the No. 1 spot in a close contest 7-6(7-4), 6-1, putting Southern Utah ahead 2-0.
Montana then took No. 2, 5 and 6 spots — each of which were close contests — to gain the lead.
T-Bird Pablo Guerra put up a huge fight in the No. 3 spot, and pulled away in the end in a close three set match 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. Despite the T-Birds best efforts, they fell short losing 4-3. However, the ground they covered this season was monumental for the program.
Words from Coach Pucher
At the end of the match, head coach Sadhaf Pucher summed things up saying, “”What an end to an amazing season. We are hurt we didn’t get it done today. It should hurt. That means you truly care. But we put ourselves in a position to win against a team full of upperclassmen. Montana is a good team.”
She continued, “They went to the championship match last year. Our guys gave it all they had and the match came down to the final few points. I couldn’t be more proud of our student-athletes, I wouldn’t trade our guys for anyone else. In the big picture it’s been an amazing year. We’ve created a culture and laid the foundation for a bright future for SUU men’s tennis. We’ll grow from this and we’ll be ready to come back next year even stronger.”
Story by:
SUU Athletics Strategic Communication
