The BYU women’s tennis team dropped its first home match of the season against Utah State in a battle decided in the final match of the day.
The Cougars came into the match ranked 65 after an impressive Jan. 19 win over the 37-ranked Houston Cougars. BYU found itself down early as the Aggies got off to a hot start.
“We dug ourselves into too deep of a hole,” BYU head coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. “Utah State played great today. There were times there where we could have gritted it out, but they wanted it more than us today.”
The Cougars were able to battle back despite falling behind early. Sophomores Toby Miclat and Savanna Ware led the comeback with strong performances in singles play. Miclat lost her first set 4-6 but was able to take the next two sets 7-6 and 6-2. Ware followed by beating Sabrina Demerath in two sets 6-3 and 6-3.
BYU freshman Katie Fitt took the court against Meghan Lyall for a match that would decide the day. It was a back-and-forth battle in which Fitt took the first set 6-2 but eventually lost the next two sets 4-6 and 3-6, giving the Aggies the victory.
The Cougars take to the road for their next match on Jan. 31 against the University of Denver and will be returning home to face Boise State on Feb. 6 at 12 p.m.
