PROVO -- BYU's 24th ranked women's tennis team continues to steamroll opponents as they squashed No. 22 Notre Dame 6-1.
Notre Dame had five losses on the year before they came to Provo, all against top 15 ranked opponents. Now you can throw the Cougars in that mix. BYU beat the Irish for the first time since Coach Manning became the head coach.
"It was really an awesome effort," said Coach Manning. "The girls are just getting better every single match, not just one player but the whole team."
BYU came out swinging, taking the early doubles point. BYU's Surkova and Miccoli were the first to win a doubles match, winning 8-5. Shortly after, Cougars Boulytcheva and Holden would win their match by the same score, giving BYU the doubles point and the early 1-0 lead.
In singles, Jennifer Miccoli came alive. Playing at three singles, she easily won her match 6-1,6-1 drawing first blood for BYU in singles play and putting BYU up 2-0. Then freshman Anastasia Sourkova chipped in a 6-0,6-2 victory to extend BYU's lead to 3-0.
BYU's number one singles player, Lauren Jones, dropped her tough fought match 6-2,6-2 to the country's 39th ranked singles player to give Notre Dame their first points. It would be their first and last point. The ever steady and solid Olga Boulytcheva won 6-3,6-4 against the county's 59th ranked singles player. While both Sofia Holden and Dolly Chang would each battle back from 4-1 deficits in their first matches to claim the overall match victory. Holden would be the only Cougar to go three sets winning 7-6,2-6,6-2.
Overall BYU is 10-2 on the year, with a 1-0 Mountain West Conference record. It was BYU's first match played on the outdoor tennis courts. BYU is 7-1 at home, while 3-1 on the road. The Cougars face Okalahoma State on Monday, March 14th at 10 am.
Results: BYU VS. NOTRE DAME
Singles
1.Thomson(ND) def. Jones 6-2,6-2
2.Boulytcheva(BYU) def. Buck(ND) 6-3,6-4
3.Surkova (BYU)def. Stastny(ND) 6-0,6-2
4.Holden(BYU) def. Connelly(ND) 7-6,2-6,6-2
5.Miccoli(BYU) def. Connelly(ND) 6-1,6-1
6.Chang(BYU) def. Donohue(ND) 7-6,7-6
Doubles
1.Thompson/Thompson(ND) def. Jones/Chang(BYU) 8-0
2.Surkova/Miccoli(BYU) def. Buck/Connelly(ND) 8-5
3.Boulytcheva/Holden(BYU) def. Connelly/Stastny(ND) 8-5