By Amy Young
In a clash of Top 25 powerhouses, the BYU women?s tennis team defeated the University of Oklahoma Sooners at home Saturday 5-2, giving them their third straight win over a Big 12 opponent.
BYU?s Anastasia Surkova and Olga Boulytcheva led the effort, sweeping Chelsea Orr and Beth Griffin, Oklahoma?s No. 2 duo, in 8 straight games and then coming up big in the singles court.
?We smoked them,? Surkova said. ?We played with other partners all week so when we were put together it was great.?
The Cougars defeated the Big 12?s Kansas State (4-3) and Kansas (7-0) two weeks ago and sought to build upon those wins against Oklahoma. This match brought even more pressure as BYU entered ranked No. 23, only one ahead of the Sooners.
?I tried not to think about rankings, only playing,? Boulytcheva said, explaining her ability to stay focused.
Boulytcheva, who received her first MWC Player of the Week award after her performance in Kansas, continued her solid performance throughout the day. Playing at the No. 2 spot, Boulytcheva defeated her singles opponent 6-2, 6-0.
In a game where every mistake counts, Boulytcheva dominated her opponent, giving up only two games between the two sets. Boulytcheva improved her career mark to 39-17 in singles and 32-7 in doubles.
The Cougars took the doubles point (2-1) with a win from the Hadley MacFarlane and Rebecca Pike duo. The BYU pair outplayed Oklahoma?s Jessica Braver and Christy Greenly team, 8-5. This marked the first time MacFarlane and Pike, the team?s lone senior, played together.
The Cougars sealed the match with singles wins from Boulytcheva, Surkova (6-1, 6-0), Jennifer Miccoli (7-5, 6-4) and Dolly Chang (6-2, 6-0).
Sophomore Lauren Jones fought to the end in her singles match against Oklahoma?s Irina Lykina. Jones lost the first set 3-6, but defeated Lykina 6-4 in the second set. In the third set, Jones came alive, but was unable to take Lykina in the tiebreaker. Jones ultimately lost the match 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7).
The Sooners? only other victory came at the No. 6 singles position, as BYU?s Breanna Williamson fell to Christi Baxley (6-2, 6-3). Williamson stepped-in at the last minute for Sofia Holden, who was unable to play due to illness. This was the first appearance this season for the freshman from Salt Lake.
The Cougars improved to 5-1 on the season and will face Boise State Thursday at the Indoor Tennis Courts at 5 p.m.
