Friday’s 5-2 win against Loyola Marymount makes this the fourth straight win for the BYU women’s tennis team, advancing the Cougars to 8-6 on the season and 4-0 in West Coast Conference play.
“The girls fought hard today,” said BYU women’s head coach Lauren Jones-Spencer. “It was a good match for us, and we are looking forward to playing even better tomorrow.”
Sophomore Nicole Tran really delivered, beating her opponent in singles as well as helping BYU capture the doubles point along with freshman Savannah Ware. Tran and Ware topped the Lions’ Lauri Mueller and Ellie Grossman 8-6.
With BYU already up 3-0, Tran pulled through to the victory at third singles over Miya Jin 6-3 and 6-4. Ware also held her own throughout the match, with a solid win over Reka Rohonyi 7-5, 6-2.
The fifth and final point of the match was added on freshman Toby Miclat’s three-set win. She fell in the first match but came through in the second and third matches, 6-2 and 10-6. Miclat is currently the WCC player of the week.
The men’s team didn’t have the same luck against the Lions, suffering a 5-2 loss and falling 1-2 in West Coast Conference play, despite excellent play by team captain Francis Sargeant and freshman Matthew Pearce.
“We had some good performances from Francis and Matthew today,” said BYU men’s head coach Brad Pearce. “They won their doubles match, Frankie took care of business in straight sets on his court, and Matthew won.”
In doubles, BYU fell in the first and third matches with final scores of 8-5 in both games. The second match is where Sargeant and Pearce really shone with an 8-4 win over Luke Bohuslav and Daniel Simko.
The gap widened after the loss at No. 6 singles, with the Lions already at a 1-0 lead. At No. 1 singles Sargeant cruised in a two-set win over David Doehring, 6-3, 6-3, attempting to lessen the now 3-1 Loyola Marymount lead.
“I think we’re just going to focus on our bright spots right now,” Pearce said. “I think Francis and Matthew did a great job, and they’re coming along nicely. Clearly, we need to get some guys performing better in doubles play and get productivity out of every position — that’s what we’re searching for.”
Both men’s and women’s teams will continue in the WCC to play No. 40 Pepperdine on Saturday. The men’s team will play another home game at 1 p.m., and the women’s team will continue on the road with a game at 11 a.m. Live stats will be available at BYUCougars.com.
