PROVO -- Multiple matches of excellent tennis left BYU alone at the top Friday and preparing for all-blue finals in both singles and doubles at the BYU Invitational.
The road to the championship matches wasn't easy for the Cougars. Junior Lauren Jones advanced to the final by defeating Anne Anderson from Colorado State 6-4, 6-1. The first set was a seesaw battle between the two with Jones pulling away in the fifth and sixth games. She used her momentum from the first set win to carry her through the second set much more easily.
The other semifinal match pitted two Cougars from Russia against each other. Senior Olga Boulytcheva beat sophomore Anastasia Surkova 6-3, 6-4 en route to the final. Following the match Boulytcheva said it wasn't easy playing against Surkova. The two come from the same city in Russia and even played in the same club when they lived there. In fact, Surkova came to BYU after hearing about the program from her Russian friend. Now Boulytcheva must face another teammate in the final.
"It won't be as difficult to play Lauren because I don't know her as well as I know Anastasia," said Boulytcheva. "I feel I'm playing well, so I'm looking forward to it."
The doubles side proved equally as fruitful for BYU. Dolly Chang and Lauren Jones made their way to the final by defeating Liz Ferris and Emily Kwok form the University of Utah eight games to two. Olga Boulytcheva and Sofia Holden's path to the final went through Emily Kirchem and Anne Anderson from Colorado State, whom they beat 8-6. The doubles wins set up an all-BYU final, with Olga Boulytcheva and Lauren Jones competing in both the singles and doubles championships.
Although BYU played well the first day of the tournament, BYU head coach Craig Manning said all the girls looked even better today. He said he's happy with the way each member of the team played and is thrilled to see an all-blue final.
"There was a lot of great tennis played today, and the girls played exceptionally well, Manning said. "Now I'm really excited about this year."
The Championship matches for the BYU Invitational will begin at 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning. The doubles final will begin at that time followed by the singles final. All matches will be held at the BYU Outdoor Tennis Courts. Admission is free and open to the public.
Complete brackets and results can be found online at www.edraws.com/byu.
RESULTS
Boulytcheva BYU def Bjorkman BSU 6-0, 6-1
Surkova BYU def Strasburger CSU 6-0, 6-1
Jones BYU def Smit WSU 6-2, 6-1
Holden BYU def Pinaar WSU 6-1, 6-0
Chang BYU def Berry BSU 6-1, 6-1
El Derwy BYU def Singh CSU 6-1, 6-1
Williamson BYU def Deters BYU 6-3
Boulytcheva BYU def Surkova BYU 6-3, 6-4
Jones BYU def Anderson CSU 6-4, 6-1
Chang BYU def Jones CSU 6-0, 6-0
Williamson BYU def El Derwy BYU 6-3, 6-4
DOUBLES
Chang/Jones BYU def Pallares/Strasburger CSU 8-0
Boulytcheva/Holden BYU def Smit/Pinaar WSU 8-4
Coll/Housley BSU def El Derwy/Surkova BYU 8-6
Williamson/Deters BYU def Harser/Bourdages Utah 8-5
Boulytcheva/Holden BYU def Kirchem/Anderson CSU 8-6
Chang/Jones BYU def Ferris/Kwok Utah 8-2
Ganzha/Carroll BSU def Wiliamon/Deters BYU 8-6