It was Alumni Day Saturday at the outdoor tennis courts in Provo, and the BYU women's tennis team capped off the celebration by defeating Gonzaga 4–3 for its second consecutive home win.
'We battled and got the win,' BYU coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. 'That's what's important.'
BYU's Meghan Sheehan-Dizon returns a serve Saturday against Gonzaga. BYU won 4–3. (Photo by Sarah Hill)
The Cougars (9–9, 2–4 WCC) started out strong in doubles and never looked back.
BYU's sophomore Meghan Sheehan-Dizon and freshman Nicolette Tran got the Cougars off to a good start with their 8–4 victory over Katie Edwards and Kylie Peek. That win was quickly followed by a second Cougar victory on Court 2. Another sophomore and freshman duo — Morgan Anderson and Mackenna Maddox — defeated Samantha Polayes and Melanie Yates, 8–3.
'The girls came out strong and did well in doubles,' BYU coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. 'We played our game and did well on courts one and two.'
Gonzaga's Franziska Koehler and Alexandra Tallas defeated BYU's senior Aubrey Paul and junior Desiree Tran 7–6, but the doubles point had already been decided in BYU's favor.
Sheehan-Dizon notched the Cougars' second point with her first win at No. 1 singles this season over Gonzaga's Edwards in a quick 6–1, 6–2 performance.
'Meghan played awesome in just her second match at No. 1,' Jones-Spencer said. 'She stayed focused, and I was really proud of her today.'
The next point of the match came from Paul, who took a 6–2, 6–0 victory against Bates. Paul has now won eight of her last nine matches, 14 overall this season.
'It felt really good; I just focused on moving my feet a lot,' Paul said. 'I just wanted to have a lot of energy and play the type of game I know how to play.'
The fourth and final point of the match for BYU came from Nicolette Tran in her 6–3, 6–3 victory against Isabell Klingert. She is second on the team in wins with 12 in her first season as a Cougar.
'We've been fighting hard the last few matches and pulling them out,' Jones-Spencer said.
With the win BYU is now tied for seventh place with San Francisco in the West Coast Conference at 2–4.
BYU will remain at home to play its last two regular season matches on April 19 and 20 against league-leading Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount.