By Scott Armstrong
The No. 31 BYU women”s tennis team cruised to a 5-2 win over visiting Oklahoma on Monday to win its second match in a row.
BYU opened play in a familiar way by clinching the overall doubles point. Anastasia Surkova and Jenny Miccoli won their ninth consecutive doubles match on court one, and Kristina Doerr and Dolly Chang took their third straight doubles match on court three to seal the point for the Cougars.
In singles, Sofia Holden and Chie Hayasaka gave BYU a 3-0 lead with early straight-set wins on courts five and three, respectively.
On court No. 1, Surkova fell behind 5-0 in the first set to Oklahoma”s Gabby Baker. But instead of losing the set, Surkova ripped off a 12-game win streak that propelled her to the first set victory and a 5-0 lead in the second. Baker responded with a four-game charge of her own, but Surkova broke serve to take the set and the match.
BYU”s Lauren Jones also won a back-and-forth match on court two. Jones opened with a 5-2 lead in the first set, but Monica Purice fought back to even the score 5-5. Jones rebounded to win the next two games and the first set before rolling to a 6-3 second-set win to take the match.
Oklahoma secured wins on courts four and six, but it wasn”t enough to challenge the Cougars.
“I thought our girls fought through some really tough struggles today and it turned out really positive in the end,” BYU coach Craig Manning said. “We are just battling with ourselves for the moment, and the girls worked hard to pick themselves up.”
The Cougars, who have won eight of their last nine matches, will face No. 50 Oklahoma State in another home match Wednesday at 2 p.m. on the BYU outdoor courts.
