PROVO, Utah (March 24th 2005)--BYU's 22nd ranked women's tennis team opens up Conference play this weekend with a doubleheader against Colorado State and Wyoming.
The team plays the Colorado State Rams Friday, followed by the Wyoming Cowgirls on Saturday. Both matches start at 10 a.m and will be held in the indoor courts. BYU leads the Mountain West Conference standings with a 1-0 record. Earlier in the year, BYU blasted Utah 7-0. For the year, the Cougars are 12-3.
Colorado State is led by Sophomore Emily Kirchem,who leads the team in singles play with a 13-6 overall record and a 9-1 dual record. The Rams have never beat BYU as they are 0-7 against the Cougars all time. The Rams are 0-2 this year against nationally ranked teams with losses to Nebraska and Wisconsin. Overall the Rams are 8-2.
Wyoming is lead by Jr. Patricia Chien who holds a 13-11singles record while boasting a 8-4 doubles record. This is the 6th meeting between the Cougars and Cowgirls. BYU leads the series 5-0. The last time the teams met was in Laramie last year, where BYU won 5-2. For the year, the Cowgirls are 7-5.
Last weekend the Cougars came off a disappointing loss to the 25th ranked Oregon Ducks to end non-conference action. BYU has beaten 4 teams in the top 75, 27th ranked South Carolina, 29th ranked Norte Dame, 45th ranked Wisconsin and 55th ranked Oklahoma.
Now available to Cougars Club members is a mid-season interview with head tennis coach Craig Manning. Manning talks about the status of the team, their strengths and weaknesses and what to look forward to in conference play this year. The interview can be viewed by logging onto BYU's athletic homepage (www.byucougars.com) and logging onto All-Access. For information email me at tennis_sid@byu.edu.