LAS VEGAS -- On an absolutely beautiful day for tennis, the No. 23 BYU women's tennis team (13-4, 1-0) walked into Las Vegas feeling good and walked out feeling better, beating the No. 63 UNLV Rebels (7-5, 0-1) 4-3 and getting its first Mountain West Conference victory of the season.
"We played great doubles and good singles today," Coach Craig Manning said. "We're just building confidence now that we're getting into conference play."
AS usual for BYU, doubles action proved to be the Cougars' strong point. They rolled through on all three courts, winning 8-6, 8-6 and 8-0. Olga Boulytcheva and Lauren Jones, who only started playing as partners a month ago, got their sixth-straight doubles victory to move their record to a perfect 6-0 this season.
However, No. 18 Olga Boulytcheva wasn't so lucky in singles and lost for just the second time this season, dropping a three-setter 3-6, 6-0, 7-5 to No. 22 Elena Gantcheva. Boulytcheva's only other defeat came on February 2 at the National Team Indoor Championships. The defeat didn't prove costly for BYU, as they were able to win three matches to seal the team victory. Sofia Holden played remarkable tennis, starting off strong and never looking back as she cruised to a quick 6-1, 6-2 victory over Cindy Treber. The win improved her singles record to 8-8, complementing her doubles win on court one with Dolly Chang.
The Cougars will be in action again on March 25 against San Diego State. That match will be played in Las Vegas as well.
BYU 4 UNLV 3
DOUBLES:
1. Chang/Holden (BYU) def. Gantcheva/Dimitrova (UNLV) 8-6
2. Sourkova/Miccoli (BYU) def. Marin/Smith (UNLV) 8-6
3. Boulytcheva/Jones (BYU) def. Treber/Mery Constanti (UNLV) 8-0
SINGLES:
1. #22 Elena Gantcheva (UNLV) def. #18 Olga Boulytcheva (BYU) 3-6, 6-0, 7-5
2. Lauren Jones (BYU) def. Nikol Dimitrova (UNLV) 6-4, 6-1
3. Anastasia Sourkova (BYU) def. Sharon Marin (UNLV) 6-3, 6-2
4. Sofia Holden (BYU) def. Cindy Treber (UNLV) 6-1, 6-2
5. Claire Smith (UNLV) def. Dolly Chang (BYU) 6-4, 6-2
6. Linda Tempelfelde (UNLV) def. Jennifer Miccoli (BYU) 6-3, 6-4