Stillwater, Okla. (March 9, 2006) -- In one of the closest matches of the season, the No. 22 ranked BYU women's tennis team pulled out the win over Oklahoma State 4-3, extending their overall record to 9-4.
"It was horrible weather so we couldn't practice until just before the match," said Coach Craig Manning. "It was the first time we played outside all season and it seemed as if all forces of nature were against us, but we did the best we could despite the obstacles."
The Cougars got out to an early 3-0 lead, but unfortunately lost the next three matches. It came down to the last singles match of Olga Boulytcheva versus OSU's Iryna Tkachenko. Boulytcheva was trailing 2-4 in game three, but pulled it out in the clutch and won four straight games to win the match (7-5, 4-6, 6-4).
In doubles play, Dolly Chang and Sofia Holden defeated Masnic/Allen 8-4 and Boulytcheva and Lauren Jones defeated Simmons/Osinska 8-2, handing BYU their first point of the night. The doubles match of Anastasia Sourkova and Jennifer Miccoli versus Tkachenko/Tsvika did not finish.
In singles play, Jones defeated Zana Masnic in two games (6-3, 6-4), Anastasia Sourkova defeated Simmons in two games (6-2, 6-3) and Boulytcheva defeated Tkachenko in three games (7-5, 4-6, 6-4). Holden lost to Tsvika in two games (7-6, 6-4), Chang lost to Yawna Allen in two games (6-1, 6-4) and Miccoli lost to Poskitt in three games (6-1, 5-7, 6-3).
"The girls did a great job considering the difficulties they had to face and I am very proud of them," said Coach Manning.
The Cougars will travel to Norman, Okla. to battle the University of Oklahoma Sooners tomorrow in their first meeting ever, then will return home to face New Mexico State Monday, March 13th at 11 a.m. MST at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts.
BYU4 Oklahoma St.3
Doubles
1.Sourkova/Miccoli (BYU) vs. Tkachenko/Tsvika (OSU) DNF
2.Chang/Holden (BYU) def. Masnic/Allen (OSU) 8-4
3.Boulytcheva/Jones (BYU) def. Simmons/Osinska (OSU) 8-2
Singles
1.Olga Boulytcheva (BYU) def. Tkachenko (OSU) 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
2.Lauren Jones (BYU) def. Zana Masnic (OSU) 6-3, 6-4
3.Anastasia Sourkova (BYU) def. Lauren Simmons (OSU) 6-2, 6-3
4.Marta Tsvika (OSU) def. Sofia Holden (BYU) 7-6, 6-4
5.Yawna Allen (OSU) def. Dolly Chang (BYU) 6-1, 6-4
6.Jennifer Poskitt (OSU) def. Jennifer Miccoli (BYU) 6-1, 5-7, 6-3