Women’s Tennis opens PacWest Championships Wednesday vs. Azusa Pacific

Trailblazers land in the PacWest field for second consecutive year

PACWEST WOMEN'S TENNIS BRACKET (PDF)

For the second consecutive year, the Dixie State women's tennis team has qualified for the Pacific West Conference Championships, held at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Center in Surprise, Arizona.

The Trailblazers (8-7) open the tournament as the No. 12 seed and will match up with No. 5 Azusa Pacific on Thursday at 9 a.m. Mountain Standard Time (10 a.m. MDT). The winner of Wednesday's match will advance to a Thursday afternoon matchup with No. 4 Cal State LA.

ALL-TIME IN PACWEST CHAMPIONSHIPS: Dixie State returns to the PacWest Championships for the sixth time overall, and the second consecutive year in 2017, after a three-year qualifying drought from 2013-15. The Trailblazers made their PacWest Championships debut in 2008 and hold a 3-14 record in PacWest Championship matches. DSU owns PacWest Championship victories over Notre Dame de Namur (2008, 2009) and Grand Canyon (2010).

KNOW YOUR FOE: Azusa Pacific enters the PacWest Championships as the No. 5 seed. The Cougars hold a 14-8 overall record and have won three of their last four matches. Lisa Schneider and Natalie Johnson lead the APU attack and each own a 15-4 record in singles play. The duo also holds a team-best 12-8 mark in doubles play.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State fell, 9-0, to Sonoma State on Friday, March 31, in the team's final match of a six-match northern California trip.

MOVING INTO THE RANKINGS: Sophomore Lacey Hancock (St. George, Utah/Pine View HS) landed at No. 14 in the latest Oracle/ITA Division II West Region rankings, marking the highest spring-season ranking in program history for a DSU player.

PERFECT IN THE FALL: The Trailblazers opened the 2016-17 season with four wins in Colorado in October, marking the program's best start in dual match play in the NCAA Division II era. Two DSU players recorded perfect starts in singles play, led by sophomore Lacey Hancock (St. George, Utah/Pine View HS), who played to a 3-0 record at No. 1 singles and 1-0 at No. 3 singles. Freshman Kyra Harames (Spokane, Wash./Central Valley HS) played to 3-0 at No. 5 singles and 1-0 at No. 4 singles.

Senior Laura Hartle (Salt Lake City, Utah/East HS) and freshman Maria Kana Goldsmith (Honolulu, Hawaii/Myron B. Thompson Academy) swept through their doubles matches in the fall, rolling to a 4-0 record at No. 3 doubles.

2016-17 ROSTER: Dixie State returns two players, Hancock and Hartle, from the 2015-16 squad and looks to build on its 5-13 record from last season.

Hancock recorded a 9-8 overall record in singles play in the 2015-16 season, finishing the year at 2-0 at No. 1 singles and 7-8 at No. 2 singles. Hancock posted an 8-10 mark in doubles play. Hartle returns as the only senior on the roster after logging a 5-10 record at No. 3 singles and a 4-14 mark in overall doubles play last season.

Five new players join the ranks for the 2016-17 season, including junior Kaylee Milligan (Silver City, N.M./Silver HS), and freshmen Frances Hina Goldsmith (Honolulu, Hawaii/Myron B. Thompson Academy), Maria Kana Goldsmith (Honolulu, Hawaii/Myron B. Thompson Academy), Kyra Harames (Spokane, Wash./Central Valley HS), and Sydney Nichols (Elwood, Utah/Bear River HS).

Milligan joins the team after competing as a multi-sport athlete at Silver High School in Silver City, New Mexico. Twin sisters Hina and Kana Goldsmith come to Dixie State after playing in Hawaii and Japan during high school. Harames prepped at Central Valley High School in Spokane, Washington, and Nichols joins the team after playing at Bear River High School in Garland, Utah.

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Players Mentioned

Lacey Hancock: 5' 5"; Sophomore

Laura Hartle: 5' 5"; Senior

Frances Hina Goldsmith: 5' 6"; Freshman

Maria Kana Goldsmith: 5' 8"; Freshman

Kyra Harames: 5' 4"; Freshman

Sydney Nichols: 5' 6"; Freshman

Kaylee Milligan: 5' 7"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Lacey Hancock
: 5' 5"; Sophomore

Laura Hartle
: 5' 5"; Senior

Frances Hina Goldsmith
: 5' 6"; Freshman

Maria Kana Goldsmith
: 5' 8"; Freshman

Kyra Harames
: 5' 4"; Freshman

Sydney Nichols
: 5' 6"; Freshman

Kaylee Milligan
: 5' 7"; Junior