The BYU women’s tennis team went 1-1 in their matches over the weekend at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Cougars lost to the University of Virginia and defeated the University of Maryland.
In their first match of the season, the Cougars fell 7-9 to No. 8 Virginia. BYU head coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said that the Cavaliers’ edge in doubles play was what gave Virginia the victory.
“We came out on our heels in the doubles and Virginia capitalized on us,” said Jones-Spencer. “In singles, we did a great job competing and fighting, we just couldn’t convert key deuce points.”
After taking the doubles point, the Cavaliers held an early lead and continued that momentum through the singles play. The advantage over the Cougars ultimately led to Virginia winning all six matches in straight sets.
Playing her first match in Cougar blue after transferring from a junior college, newcomer Natella Nabieva put up a valiant effort, losing a back and forth match 6-4, 7-5.
“Natella did a great job fighting until the last point,” Jones-Spencer said. “She got behind early in the match but fought back and competed well.”
The Cougars regrouped after their disappointing Friday and bounced back against Maryland, defeating the Terrapins 5-2.
“It was a great win for the team,” Jones-Spencer said. “We didn’t come out as I had hoped in doubles, but I’m proud of the way the girls played in singles. They stepped up, playing aggressive and fought hard.”
Losing the doubles point again proved problematic for the Cougars, but they were able to quickly bounce back. Nicolette Poulsen claimed the first BYU point after winning in two sets, 6-3, 6-3. Savannah Ware lost, giving the Terrapins a 2-1 lead.
BYU charged back, with Mayci Jones getting the No.1 singles match, Toby Miclat winning a closely contested 7-6 (7-1), 6-2. Finally, newcomer Nabieva clinched the victory for BYU with a 7-5, 6-4 win. Taylah Beckman finished up with a successful but grueling match with a final score of 6-3, 5-7, 5-4 (8-6).
The first home match for the Cougars will be on Friday, Feb. 6 against the University of Denver.
Admission is free to the public and free pizza will be provided.
