(St. George - Feb 12, 2026) – Utah Tech women's tennis returns to action this weekend with a two match homestand this weekend at the Trailblazer Tennis Courts in St. George, Utah. The Trailblazers are set to square off with North Dakota at 11 a.m on Saturday, Feb. 14th. Due to impending weather, UT will play the doubles matches against Idaho State at 3 p.m. on Saturday, and finish up with the singles matches versus Idaho State at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 15th.

North Dakota will also take on Idaho State in a neutral site match on Sunday at 10 a.m..

Who | Utah Tech (2-5, 0-0 WAC) vs. North Dakota (3-5, 0-0 Summit League)
When | Saturday, Feb. 14  - 11 a.m. (MT)
Where | Trailblazer Tennis Courts - St. George, Utah
Social Media | Instagram + X (Twitter)

Who | Utah Tech (2-5, 0-0 WAC) vs Idaho State (2-4, 0-0 Big Sky) (Doubles Matches only)
When | Saturday, Feb. 14 - 3 p.m. (MT)
Where | Trailblazer Tennis Courts - St. George, Utah
Social Media | Instagram + X (Twitter)

Who | Utah Tech (2-5, 0-0 WAC) vs. Idaho State (2-4, 0-0 Big Sky) (Singles Matches only)
When | Sunday, Feb. 15 - 2 p.m. (MT)
Where | Trailblazer Tennis Courts - St. George, Utah
Social Media | Instagram + X (Twitter)

WAC DOUBLES PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Last time out, Juniors Ana Gutierrez Sampere and Mariana Zurita Berdecio won the WAC Doubles Players of the Week for their performances at the Fertitta Tennis Complex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The duo were leading in their doubles match on Friday, Jan. 30 vs Youngstown State 5-4, when the set was left unfinished, and secured the doubles point on Sunday, Feb. 1 winning their set via tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-1) vs Weber State.

A GLANCE AT NORTH DAKOTA
The North Dakota Fighting Hawks come in with a 3-5 overall record on the season. They won their last match on Saturday, Feb. 7 on the road at Northern Iowa 6-1 to snap a 3 match losing streak. Sophomore Alyssa Giupponi enters this weekend with the best singles record at 4-2, and seniors Ethel Li and Jule Schulte team up to lead the Fighting Hawks with the best doubles record at 6-2. North Dakota's squad is made up of all international recruits and five of the eight girls are seniors. 

A GLANCE AT IDAHO STATE
The Idaho State Bengals enter this weekend holding a 2-4 overall record on the 2026 campaign. They picked up their two wins on the season Sunday, Feb. 8 with a double header sweep of Colorado Mesa, 6-1 and 7-0. Pairs Veronika Zarovna/Stefanya Shalakova and Millie Day/Emme Richards won both of their doubles matches in the double header on Sunday, and six different Bengals claimed singles points over the duration of the double header. Six out of the nine Bengals on the roster this season are international recruits, including three girls from Kazakhstan. Idaho State rosters three freshmen, including Emmy Richards from Bountiful, Utah.

LAST TIME OUT
The Trailblazers had a week off after a 7-0 sweep last time out against in-state foe Weber State in their last game in Las Vegas two weekends ago. The win was UT's first sweep of the season and it halted a two match losing streak. Utah Tech got off to a strong start by winning the doubles match point, where juniors Mariana Zurita Berdecio and Ana Gutierrez Sampere secured the doubles point, winning their set via tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-1). The Trailblazers then swept the singles matches, highlighted by Mariana Zurita Berdecio's thrilling win in singles match No. 1 where she emerged victorious in the tiebreaker 10-8. Freshman Cameron Hendrix wrapped up the sweep with a hard-fought 7-6, 7-5 win at No. 5 singles.

MEET THE TRAILBLAZERS
Utah Tech returns seven letter winners from last year's squad, including sophomore Maya Inouye, a 2024-25 Second Team All-WAC selection. She led the Trailblazers with 10 singles wins, logging a 10-6 record during the dual season and setting the UT Division I-era record for single-season wins. Inouye is the Trailblazers' first-ever All-WAC singles honoree and the first Trailblazer to reach 10 wins since Yolena Carlon went 10-7 in 2018. 

The Trailblazers' two newcomers are freshmen Cameron Hendrix and Ilse Fernanda Elechiguerra Ortega. Seeing action in two tournaments last fall, Hendrix won the Bengal draw with doubles partner senior Nicole Kells at the Idaho State Invitational, and went 2-1 in singles play at the UNLV Watanabe Classic. Out of La Ceiba, Mexico, Elechiguerra Ortega joined the team in time for this spring semester.

Head coach Eric Pelton is in his 20th season at the helm of Utah Tech women's tennis. He has totaled 111 wins at UT and winning seasons in 2014 (12-9), 2017 (9-8), 2019 (13-4) and 2020 (6-3). Pelton has mentored 10 all-conference selections, including Inouye.

2025 IN REVIEW
UT posted its best Division I-era record in 2025, going 7-13 with wins over Colorado Mesa, the College of Idaho, Mesa CC, Montana, UT Dallas and Weber State. Five of those victories were 7-0 sweeps. Utah Tech's season ended in the first round of the WAC Tennis Championships with a 4-0 loss to UT Arlington.

BIG SKY ON THE HORIZON
Utah Tech is in its last year of competition as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The Trailblazers will join the Big Sky Conference on July 1, 2026. UT will keep the conference at nine women's tennis programs, joining Eastern Washington, Idaho, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Northern Arizona, Portland State and Weber State. Sacramento State departs for the Big West after this season.

UP NEXT
Utah Tech will head back down I-15 to Las Vegas to face off with Colorado University in a neutral site match at the Fertitta Tennis Complex at UNLV on Saturday, February 21.