The BYU women's tennis rallied team from an early deficit to defeat No. 29 Texas Tech Red Raiders women's tennis 4–3 on March 21 at the McLeod Tennis Center, completing one of its strongest road performances of the season.
The No. 53 Cougars improved to 15-4 overall and 4-3 in Big 12 play, securing their third straight win and closing out a road weekend that featured two tightly contested matches.
“This was a gritty weekend for us,” BYU head coach Holly Hasler said. “Winning two 4-3 matches on the road shows the toughness of this team. Every player stepped up in different moments and never backed down. We battled the heat, stayed united and competed with heart. Our focus was playing with assertive confidence, and the team delivered that from start to finish.”
Texas Tech set the early pace by taking the doubles point with wins on Courts 1 and 2. BYU’s only doubles victory came on Court 3, where Bella Lewis and Sue Yan Tan earned a 6–2 result, but the Cougars entered singles play trailing 1-0.
BYU quickly began to chip away at the deficit.
Sue Yan Tan leveled the match at No. 3 singles with a 6–2, 6–3 win over Mariia Hlahola. Tan controlled the match from the outset and provided the first breakthrough for the Cougars as other courts continued.
Sage Bergeson followed at No. 5 singles, defeating Havana Kadi 6–2, 6–3 to give BYU its first lead of the afternoon at 2–1. Her result came during a stretch where multiple matches were nearing completion, shifting pressure onto the remaining courts.
Texas Tech responded with wins at the top of the lineup. Kate Dmitrichenko defeated Kendall Kovick 6–4, 6–0 at No. 2 singles, and Hailey Murphy followed with a 7–5, 6–2 victory over Gracie Levelston at No. 1, putting the Red Raiders back in front 3-2.
With the match on the line, BYU turned to its remaining courts.
Karina Mohamed delivered a key performance at No. 6 singles, earning a 7–6 (7–3), 6–2 win over Ella Brownback. Mohamed held steady in a tightly contested opening set before pulling away in the second, tying the match at 3-3.
That left the outcome to be decided on Court 4.
YuYun Chen, who had dropped the first set 3–6 against Polina Sleptsova, responded in the second set to even the match at one set apiece. With the dual hanging in the balance, Chen took control in the deciding set, building an early lead and maintaining it through the finish to secure a 3–6, 6–3, 6–1 victory.
Her win clinched the match for BYU and completed the comeback after the Cougars had trailed both after doubles and late in singles play.
The dual lasted just over three hours, with multiple courts finishing in close succession as the result came down to the final matches in progress.
BYU won four singles matches at the No. 3, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 positions to complete the comeback. The result also marked the program’s first win over Texas Tech.
The win marked BYU’s third straight victory and added another close result in conference play.