HOUSTON – Sophomore Toby Miclat led BYU women’s tennis to a hard-fought 4-3 upset of No. 37 University of Houston, Monday in Houston.
“I’m very happy for the girls,” BYU head coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. “This is the type of win we have been working so hard for. It was a great team effort.”
Miclat and doubles partner Mayci Jones gave the Cougars their first victory in doubles, beating Maria Cardenas and Angela Lorenzo 6-0. Savannah Ware and Nicolette Tran secured the doubles point for BYU with a 6-4 victory over Mina Markovic and Despoina Vogasari. The Cougars’ third duo if Meghan Sheehan-Dizon and Morgan Anderson-Littlewood fell 6-3 in their match against Elena Kordolami and Rocio Martin.
“They are a tough team and came out aggressively in doubles, but we played smart and got the doubles point,” Jones-Spencer said. “Singles was a battle but we showed our toughness and pulled out the win.”
Houston picked up two quick points in singles by beating Jones and Tran, playing at the No. 1 and 2 spots, respectively, in straight sets. Jones lost to Vogasari 6-4, 6-3 and Tran fell to Korolami 6-1, 6-1. Ware tied up the match at two by defeating Cardenas in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.
With the match tied at two, Anderson-Littlewood pulled out a 7-6, 6-3 win in her match against Lorenzo to give BYU the 3-2 edge. Needing one more victory to clinch the match, Miclat pulled through for the Cougars. She beat Markovic in a three-set thriller 1-6, 7-6, 7-5. After the match was clinched, Sheehan-Dizon fell to Martin 6-1, 6-7, 6-4 to give Houston their third point.
BYU returns to Provo for its home opener against in-state rival Utah State in Provo on Wednesday, January 28 at noon.. Live video feed will be available for the match.