PROVO -- They say in life's toughest moments champions are either made or lost. Today champions were made.
BYU's No. 28 women's tennis team beat No. 40 UNLV 6-1 and clinched the Mountain West Conference's regular season championship and secured a No. 1 bid going into the Conference Tournament. The win also increased BYU chances of hosting a beginning round in the NCAA Tournament.
"Today was some good tennis," said head coach Craig Manning. "This has just been a great season for us."
Many of the Cougars found themselves down early today or in dogfights but all seemed to find a little something within that fuelled them to victory.
Coach Manning had his team ready to go right from the get go today. The Fab Freshman duo of Anastasia Sourkova and Jennifer Miccoli did what they do best and that is simply taking opponents apart. They cruised to an 8-2 victory. At two doubles Dolly Chang and Lauren Jones did much of the same. They also won 8-2 to secure the doubles win and the victory.
But the real doubles match was on court three where Olga Boylytcheva and Sofia Holden found themselves in bind. The duo entered the match a perfect 14-0 but found themselves down 7-4 and one game away from losing their final regular season match. But the girls refused to go down without a fight. They managed to battle back and tie the match at 7 all. Then they dug in their heels and ripped off two straight games, coming from behind to claim the match 9-7 over UNLV's No. 60 ranked doubles team. The doubles duo never lost a regulars season doubles match.
That diehard, against-all-odds, mentality trickled into singles. The Cougars got up 3-0 with easy wins from both Miccoli and Sourkova. Miccoli got BYU's first singles win with her 6-0,6-3 win at five singles followed by Sourkova's straight set 6-0,6-4 win at the three spot. Shortly after that Boulytcheva came up with a 6-3,6-2 win at two singles to secure the win and a perfect 6-0 Conference record.
But today's guts and glory matches came from Sofia Holden at four and Lauren Jones at one singles. With a Cougar victory already in the books it would have been easy for them to let up. Oh, but not these girls.
Holden found herself down 5-1 and 30 love in the first set. But once again that fire from within powered her way though that game and then she ripped off six straight game wins to take the set 7-5. That win seemed to break her opponent, as she won 6-2 in the second match to get the win.
Jones at one singles got herself into a dogfight with the country's No. 28 ranked singles player. In the first set she fought hard but lost 7-5. In the second set she rolled up her sleeves, grit her teeth and grabbed the match by the horns winning 6-4. In the tiebreaker, the girls went back and forth until the match was tied at 10 all. Jones got up 11-10 and then with all eyes on them the girls volleyed for what seemed like forever until Jones blasted one of her infamous forehand shots into the left corner where it would stay.
The win gives the Cougars their 7th win over a top 75 team and an overall record of 18-3. The victory also gives the Cougars a near perfect 12-1 overall home record. BYU rests this week and then takes off for the Conference Tournament in San Diego April 28th -- 30th.
Results: No. 28 BYU 6 def. No. UNLV 1
1. Jones(BYU) def. #28 Gantcheva(UNLV) 5-7,6-4,12-10
2. Boulytcheva(BYU) def. Zsiros(UNLV) 6-3,6-2
3. Sourkova(BYU) def. Ortiz-Luis(UNLV) 6-0,6-4
4. Holden(BYU) def. Marin(UNLV) 7-5,6-2
5. Miccoli(BYU) def. Treber(UNLV) 6-0,6-3
6. Smith(UNLV) def. Chang(BYU) 1-6,4-6,11-9
Doubles
1. #45 Sourkova/Miccoi(BYU) def. Gantcheva/Marin(UNLV) 8-2
2. Jones/Chang(BYU) def. Ortiz-Luis(UNLV) 8-2
3. Boulytcheva/Holden(BYU) def. Zsiros/Smith(UNLV) 9-7