PROVO, Utah -- Freshmen Toby Miclat and Mayci Jones ignited No. 71 BYU women’s tennis in a 5-2 upset win over 62nd-ranked Marshall, Thursday.
“I thought we played well today,” BYU head coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. “We played solid on a lot of the courts and stayed focused enough to pull out the win today. Marshall’s a good team. We did a good job of playing our tennis and came out on top today.”
Jones and Miclat rallied the Cougars (5-6, 1-0 West Coast Conference) from the first doubles slot to clinch the first point for BYU. After facing a 6-3 deficit, the pair sparked a comeback, sending the match into tiebreakers. The freshmen duo fell behind once again but this time by the count of 5-1 in the tiebreaker, before rattling off six straight points to secure the victory, 8-7(5).
The Cougars posted their second win of the season over a ranked opponent as they handled Marshall (10-4, 0-0 Conference USA) to stay unbeaten at home.
The day began in BYU’s favor as the No. 3 doubles team of Meghan Sheehan-Dizon and Morgan Anderson-Littlewood dominated their opponents 8-2, setting up the dramatic No. 1 doubles win.
Freshman Savannah Ware posted a win for the Cougars as she cruised past Karli Timko, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 5 singles. In the sixth spot, Littlewood also dominated her opponent in straight sets as she topped Rachael Morales, 6-0, 6-2, to stretch the BYU lead to 3-0.
The Herd strung together a rally of its own as Nicolette Tran and Sheehan-Dizon both fell in two sets at third and second singles, respectively.
Once again freshman Miclat came up big in a comeback for the Cougars as she beat Anna Pomyatinskaya, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2, sealing the BYU victory.
Jones then finished her day by overcoming an 8-4 deficit in the shortened third set to edge Dana Oppinger for the win, 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8).
After the nonconference win, the Cougars resume WCC action Friday at noon against Pacific and Saturday at noon against No. 38 Saint Mary’s. Live statistics will be available on the BYU athletics website.
Tennis Match Results
Marshall vs Brigham Young University
Mar 20, 2014 at BYU
(Outdoor Tennis Courts)
#71 Brigham Young University 5, #62 Marshall 2
Singles competition
1. JONES, Mayci (BYU) def. Dana Oppinger (MAR) 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8)
2. Derya Turhan (MAR) def. SHEEHAN-DIZON, Meg. (BYU) 6-1, 7-5
3. Kai Broomfield (MAR) def. TRAN, Nicolette (BYU) 6-4, 6-2
4. MICLAT, Toby (BYU) def. Anna Pomyatinskaya (MAR) 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. WARE, Savannah (BYU) def. Karli Timko (MAR) 6-1, 6-1
6. ANDERSON, Morgan (BYU) def. Rachael Morales (MAR) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. JONES, Mayci/MICLAT, Toby (BYU) def. Dana Oppinger/Derya Turhan (MAR) 8-7 (7-5)
2. Karli Timko/Anna Pomyatinskaya (MAR) def. TRAN, Nicolette/TRAN, Desiree (BYU) 8-6
3. SHEEHAN-DIZON, Meg./ANDERSON, Morgan (BYU) def. Kai Broomfield/Rachael Morales (MAR) 8-2
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,6,3,2,4,1)