PROVO, Utah -- It was a team effort as No. 58 BYU women’s tennis posted its first-ever win against Santa Clara, 4-3, in West Coast Conference action Friday.
The Cougars (9-7) improved to 5-1 in the WCC while the Broncos (7-8) dropped to 2-3 in conference.
“I’m happy that we were able to get a win today,” BYU head coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. “We had good momentum heading into the singles matches after winning the doubles points and that was very good for us.”
In doubles action, the Cougars stormed out of the gate as juniors Meghan Sheehan-Dizon and Morgan Anderson-Littlewood stifled their opponents at third doubles by the score of 8-0.
Freshmen Mayci Jones and Toby Miclat then secured the point for BYU at No. 1 doubles, handily defeating Katie Le and Chelby Cooke, 8-3.
The netters then pushed the match score to 3-0 against Santa Clara.
Littlewood dominated at No. 6 singles, beating Elaine Chesoni 6-0, 6-1. Sophomore Nicolette Tran followed with a victory over Cooke, 6-1, 6-3, to cruise at the third spot.
The Broncos then started a comeback, galloping to win the next two matches at No. 1 and No. 2 singles.
With the match at 3-2 in favor of the Cougars, the opportunity to clinch fell upon freshman Savannah Ware. The Southern California native repeated a familiar storyline, clinching the WCC victory for BYU by taking a two-set contest against Nikki Wolny, 6-4, 6-2. Ware has clinched four wins this season including victories over Boise State, San Francisco and then 38th-ranked Saint Mary’s.
“I thought we didn’t perform to the best of our abilities in some of our singles matches,” Jones-Spencer said. “But we learned a lot and look to continue to improve as we continue league play. San Diego will be a very good and challenging match for us next Saturday.”
The match next Saturday is at home and begins at noon MDT at the Outdoor Tennis Courts. Live statistics will be available on the BYU Athletics website, BYUCougars.com.
#58 Brigham Young University 4, Santa Clara 3
Singles competition
1. LE, Katie (SC) def. JONES, Mayci (BYU) 6-2, 6-4
2. ROUVILLOIS, Delphine (SC) def. SHEEHAN-DIZON, Meg. (BYU) 6-2, 7-5
3. TRAN, Nicolette (BYU) def. COOKE, Chelby (SC) 6-1, 6-3
4. SKARAS, Stephanie (SC) def. MICLAT, Toby (BYU) 6-3, 1-6, 7-6
5. WARE, Savannah (BYU) def. WOLNY, Nikki (SC) 6-4, 6-2
6. ANDERSON-LITTLEWOOD, Morgan (BYU) def. CHESONI, Elaine (SC) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. MICLAT, Toby/JONES, Mayci (BYU) def. LE, Katie/COOKE, Chelby (SC) 8-3
2. ROUVILLOIS, Delphine/SILVA, Danielle (SC) vs. WARE, Savannah/TRAN, Nicolette (BYU) no result
3. SHEEHAN-DIZON, Meg./ANDERSON-LITTLEWOOD, Morgan (BYU) def. SKARAS, Stephanie/WOLNY, Nikki (SC) 8-0
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,3,1,2,5,4)