(St. George, UT - Mar. 25, 2026) – Utah Tech women's tennis returns to action this week with two matches at the Trailblazer Tennis Courts. UT will first face a future Big Sky opponent in Montana on Friday, Mar. 27, then will play in their final WAC opener versus Tarleton State on Saturday, Mar. 28.

Montana and Tarleton State will face each other in a neutral site match at the Trailblazer Tennis Courts on Saturday, Mar. 28, prior to the Trailblazers' match with Tarleton State that afternoon.

Who | Utah Tech (8-10, 0-0 WAC) vs. Montana (2-10, 0-4 Big Sky)
When | Friday, Mar. 27 - 2 p.m. (MT)
Where | Trailblazer Tennis Courts - St. George, UT
Social Media | Instagram + X (Twitter)

Who | Utah Tech (8-10, 0-0 WAC) vs Tarleton State (11-5, 0-0 WAC) 
When | Saturday, Mar. 28 - 3 p.m. (MT)
Where | Trailblazer Tennis Courts - St. George, UT
Social Media | Instagram + X (Twitter)


A GLANCE AT MONTANA
The Montana Grizzlies will enter this weekend's play on a current six match losing streak. The Grizzlies are coming off a road trip in Portland, Oregon where they faced Portland University and Portland State, where they dropped both matches. Montana is led in singles play by junior Kelsey Phillips, who boasts a team high seven wins. The Grizzlies' best doubles pair for the 2026 season includes Phillips teamed up with Meghna Anand. Montana women's tennis is led by head coach Steve Ascher, who is in his 18th season at the helm. 

A GLANCE AT TARLETON STATE
The Tarleton State Texans will begin conference play against Utah Tech riding a three match win streak. Their last outing was a non-division 1 match on Tuesday, Mar. 17 versus Hillsdale College where the Texans won easily, 7-0. The Texans are led in singles play by freshman Aya Ishii, who holds a strong 11-2 record. Ishii is also a part of the strongest doubles pair for Tarleton State, which also includes Marissa Minetti. The Texans are led by head coach Elianne Douglas-Miron, who is in her seventh year with the program and sixth as the head coach. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Trailblazer women's tennis team picked up a trio of road shutout wins in Arizona, defeating Ottawa University (AZ) and Mesa Community College (twice), all by a score of 7-0. Utah Tech didn't drop a single set on the road trip and improved their road record to 5-1 on the 2026 campaign. Every rostered Trailblazer was able to record a win on the three match Arizona road swing.

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
The Trailblazers will wrap up their 2026 home schedule and regular season with a double header on Saturday, Apr. 10 versus Colorado Mesa. UT will also honor their two seniors with a ceremony in between matches.