The BYU women's tennis team competed hard this weekend against some of the country's stiffest competition. After some sensational doubles play mixed in with a solid singles effort, the Cougars took 2nd place in the ITA/Wilson Region V Championships.
"The strong singles showings from Sofia, Olga and Lauren plus Dolly and Lauren in doubles really helped us out a lot this weekend," Head Coach Craig Manning said. "The just gave us a great effort, it was a long week but a fun one."
BYU's doubles duo of Lauren Jones and Dolly Chang advanced to the finals after upsetting New Mexico's number one seeded duo of Gersic/Kovacek in the quarterfinals and Kansas State's Kvaratskhelia/Rosenberg in the semifinals. The Cougars would later forfeit the final match as a result of school policy not to play on Sunday.
"Lauren and Dolly did a fantastic job," Manning said. " They really played amazing doubles. It was a fun to watch."
In the early rounds, BYU showed why it's ranked 21st in the country by advancing Lauren Jones, Olga Boulvtcheva and Sofia Holden to the singles round of 32. From there, Lauren Jones powered her way past New Mexico's Isabelle Mingnot 7-5,6-1. Jones would later drop her quarterfinal match 6-2,6-0 to Tulsa's number one seed Daniela Muscolino.
Boulvtcheva and Holden would also advance to the quarterfinals round by beating a pair of Tulsa teammates. Boulvtcheva hammered Kindsay Grimes 6-3,6-0 and Holden defeated Lisette Pereira 6-0,6-1. The girls would later lose their quarterfinal matches as Nebraska's Gitte Osterman sneaked by Boulvtcheva in a long, tough match 7-6,2-6,6-1. Holden would go down to Yanick Dullens of Denver 7-5,6-1.
In doubles, the girls fared better. Fab freshman Dolly Chang and sophomore Lauren Jones teamed up to defeat Utah's Eber/Ferris 8-5 and later overwhelmed Denver's Kourim/Trettin 8-4 to advance. BYU's Boulytcheva/Holden would also advance to the quarterfinals by beating New Mexico's Keidbrink/Scott 8-2. They would lose in the next round to Boise's Ayling/Woschek 8-5.
Jones and Chang met the tournament's highest seeded duo, New Mexico's Gersic/Kovacek in the quarterfinals, and overcame them in a hard fought match 9-7. The girls then beat Kanas State's Kvaratskhelia/Rosenberg to advance to the finals.
As a result of their second place finish, the Cougars qualify for the Central Regional Playoff held Saturday in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The winner of the playoff will most likely receive a bid to the 2005 ITA National Team Indoor Championships.