PROVO, Utah – Despite another strong weekend of tennis from senior Nicolette Poulsen, BYU women's tennis fell in matches against No. 55 Washington State and Gonzaga.
The Cougars (4-11, 2-2 WCC) dropped Friday's match at Washington State (17-4), 6-1, before coming up short in a 4-2 defeat at Gonzaga (12-1, 2-0 WCC) on Saturday.
"Washington State is always tough on the road. They played well and executed better on deuce points than we did," BYU head coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. "Against Gonzaga we did a good job in doubles, but in singles we had the match on our racquets but weren't able to convert those points. I'm proud of the girls for the fight they showed and we will learn from these matches and be better moving forward."
BYU got off to a slow start against Washington State, dropping all three doubles matches to fall behind 1-0.
In singles play, Poulsen won at the No. 3 spot to score BYU's only point of the match. After dropping the first set 4-6, Poulsen stormed back to win the next two, 6-1, 6-2, to defeat Washington State's Barbora Michalkova.
In Saturday's match against the Zags, BYU got off to a quick start by winning the doubles point. Poulsen and junior Savannah Ware combined at No. 2 doubles to defeat Gonzaga's Melanie Yates and Alex Bourguignon 6-3 while junior Mayci Jones and freshman Taylah Beckman beat the Zags' Samantha Polayes and Sophie Whittle, 6-4 at first doubles.
In singles, the Zags tied the score at one after BYU freshman Sarah Clifford fell 7-5, 6-2 at No. 6 singles. Poulsen gave the Cougars the lead again with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Gonzaga's Polayes at the No. 2 singles spot. The Zags won the next two matches to make the score 3-2 in favor of Gonzaga.
The Bulldogs clinched the match after Graciela Rosas defeated Beckman in three sets, winning 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-0 at fifth singles.
BYU returns home to host Fresno State on Friday, April 1, at 10 a.m. MDT at the BYU tennis courts. Admission is free to the public and free pizza will be provided.
WSU 6, BYU 1
Singles competition
1. Bashota, Donika (WSU) def. Mayci Jones (BYU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Biryukova, Maria (WSU) def. Toby Miclat (BYU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-1
3. Nicolette Poulsen (BYU) def. Michalkova, Barbara (WSU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
4. Huynh, Trang (WSU) def. Natella Nabieva (BYU) 7-6 (4), 6-1
5. Miksovska, Aneta (WSU) def. Savannah Ware (BYU) 7-6 (4), 6-7 (2), 1-0 (4)
6. Leenknecht, Lize (GON) def. Taylah Beckman (BYU) 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Bashota/Matejevic (WSU) vs. Jones/Miclat (BYU) 4-3, DNF
2. Leenknecht/Huynh (WSU) def. Ware/Poulsen (BYU) 6-3
3. Biryukova/Miksovska (WSU) def. Nabieva/Beckman (BYU) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3) Singles (1,2,4,3,6,5)
Gonzaga 4, BYU 2
Singles competition
1. WHITTLE, Sophie (GON) def. Mayci Jones (BYU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Nicolette Poulsen (BYU) def. POLAYES, Samantha (GON) 6-2, 6-4
3. APOLLO, Nevada (GON) def. Natella Nabieva (BYU) 6-4, 6-2
4. BOURGUIGNON, Alex (GON) vs. Savannah Ware (BYU) 0-6, 7-6 (11-9), 3-5, unfinished
5. ROSAS, Graciela (GON) def. Taylah Beckman (BYU) 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-0
6. GARLEY, Domonique (GON) def. Sarah Clifford (BYU) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Mayci Jones/Taylah Beckman (BYU) def. POLAYES, Samantha/WHITTLE, Sophie (GON) 6-4
2. Savannah Ware/Nicolette Poulsen (BYU) def. YATES, Melanie/BOURGUIGNON, Alex (GON) 6-3
3. KOEHLER, Sissi/GARLEY, Domonique (GON) def. Natella Nabieva/Sarah Clifford (BYU) 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,2,3,1,5)