Women’s Tennis heads to Arizona for PacWest Championships

Trailblazers return for third consecutive PacWest Championships appearance

2018 PacWest Women's Tennis Bracket (PDF)

For the third 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 (9-8) open the tournament as the No. 10 seed and will match up with No. 7 Concordia-Irvine on Wednesday at 9 a.m. Mountain Standard Time (10 a.m. MDT). The winner of Wednesday's match will advance to a Thursday morning matchup with No. 4 Point Loma.

ALL-TIME IN PACWEST CHAMPIONSHIPS: Dixie State returns to the PacWest Championships for the seventh time overall, and the third consecutive year in 2018, after a three-year qualifying drought from 2013-15. The Trailblazers made their PacWest Championships debut in 2008 and hold a 4-15 record in PacWest Championship matches. DSU owns PacWest Championship victories over Notre Dame de Namur (2008, 2009), Grand Canyon (2010), and Dominican (2017).

KNOW YOUR FOE: Concordia-Irvine enters the conference championships with a 10-10 overall record. The Eagles finished the regular season winning four of their last seven matches. Wednesday's matchup will serve as a grudge match between Dixie State and CUI, as the Eagles earned a 7-2 win over the Trailblazers on February 16.

IN THE RANKINGS: After recording a 3-1 record in singles play in the Bay Area, Lacey Hancock (St. George, Utah/Pine View) entered the ITA Tennis NCAA Division II National Singles Rankings at No. 60.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State went 2-1 on its final regular season trip of the season, earning 9-0 sweeps over Colorado Christian and CSU-Pueblo before dropping a 6-3 decision to Metro State-Denver.

2017-18 ROSTER: Dixie State returns four players from the 2016-17 squad, including sophomore sisters Frances Hina Goldsmith (Honolulu, Hawaii/Myron B. Thompson Academy) and Maria Kana Goldsmith (Honolulu, Hawaii/Myron B. Thompson Academy), junior Lacey Hancock (St. George, Utah/Pine View), and sophomore Kyra Harames (Spokane, Wash./Central Valley). The Trailblazers look to build on last year's 9-8 record, which marked the first winning season since the 2013-14 campaign.

Hina Goldsmith logged a team-best 10-6 record in singles play during the 2016-17 season and turned in a 7-10 record in doubles play. Harames finished the season with an 8-7 record in singles play, while recording a 7-10 mark in doubles play. Hancock went 7-7 in singles play and 6-9 in doubles play. Kana Goldsmith finished with a 4-13 record in singles play and a 9-7 mark in doubles play.

Five new players join the squad for the 2017-18 season, including juniors McKelle Burnett (Centerville, Utah/Viewmont) and Yolena Carlon (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista), and freshmen Taylor Brown (Lubbock, Texas/Frenship ), Hattie Erekson (St. George, Utah/Pine View), and Sabrina Longson (Salt Lake City, Utah/Olympus).

Burnett joins the team after time at BYU-Hawaii and Idaho State, while Carlon comes to DSU after two seasons at Mesa Community College. Brown prepped at Frenship High School in Wolfforth, Texas, Erekson prepped at Pine View High School in St. George, and Longson prepped at Olympus High School in Holladay, Utah.

COACHING STAFF: Eric Pelton begins his 12th season as the DSU women's tennis head coach. Pelton has been with the program since the sport was added for the 2006-07 season. Pelton is joined by two assistants, Jordan Lyden and Steve Bui, for the 2017-18 season.

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Players Mentioned

Taylor Brown: 5' 2"; Freshman

Yolena Carlon: 5' 0"; Junior

Hattie Erekson: 5' 7"; Freshman

Frances Hina Goldsmith: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Maria Kana Goldsmith: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Lacey Hancock: 5' 5"; Junior

Kyra Harames: 5' 4"; Sophomore

Sabrina Longson: 5' 8"; Freshman

McKelle Burnett: 5' 4"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Taylor Brown
: 5' 2"; Freshman

Yolena Carlon
: 5' 0"; Junior

Hattie Erekson
: 5' 7"; Freshman

Frances Hina Goldsmith
: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Maria Kana Goldsmith
: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Lacey Hancock
: 5' 5"; Junior

Kyra Harames
: 5' 4"; Sophomore

Sabrina Longson
: 5' 8"; Freshman

McKelle Burnett
: 5' 4"; Junior