PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s tennis secured a 4-3 victory over No. 33 Denver on Saturday.
“It feels pretty good as new coaches to get our first win over a ranked team,” said BYU head coach Holly Parkinson Hasler. "We deserved this win; we have worked so hard, and today was proof that, if we come together as a team, we can conquer anything. This team is special."
The Cougars took the doubles point with the No. 2 team of Polina Malykh and Emilee Astle finishing with a 6-4 victory over Tatum Burger and Toni Nelson. In the No. 1 match, Kate Cusick Truman and Leah Heimuli defeated Taylor Melville and Hada Chang, 7-5, advancing Cusick Truman and Heimuli’s doubles record to 7-1. In the other matchup, No. 3 Emma Jewell and Helen Jiao fell 2-6 to Denver’s Anna Riedmiller and Camille Verden-Anderson.
Going into singles play, Malykh finished first in No. 3 singles 6-2, 6-3, over Britt Pursell, bringing the match score to 2-0 for BYU. Cusick Truman fought hard but fell 4-6, 3-6, in No. 1 singles to No. 103-ranked singles player Melville. Astle finished next in No. 4 singles with a victory over Chang 7-5, 6-2, bringing the score to 3-1.
Denver answered back when Heimuli fell to Riedmiller in three sets 6-4, 1-6, 2-6. In Jiao’s No. 5 singles match, an overruled call and an unsportsmanlike conduct violation on Denver finished the match in three sets at 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. After playing three sets 4-6, 6-2, 4-3, Madeline Almeida Wanlass retired her match with Verden-Anderson, making the final score 4-3 for BYU.
BYU travels to Salt Lake City on Friday to take on in-state rival Utah on Friday, Feb. 28, at 6 p.m. MDT.
Doubles Results:
1. Kate Cusick Truman/Leah Heimuli (BYU) def. Taylor Melville/Hada Chang (Denver) 7-5
2. Polina Malyh/Emilee Astle (BYU) def. Toni Nelson/Tatum Burger (Denver) 6-4
3. Anna Riedmiller/Camilee Verden-Anderson (Denver) def. Emma Jewell/Helen Jiao (BYU) 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles Results:
1. No. 103 Taylor Melville (Denver) def. Kate Cusick Truman 6-4, 6-3
2. Anna Riedmiller (Denver) vs. Leah Heimuli (BYU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
3. Polina Malykh (BYU) def. Britt Pursell (Denver) 6-2, 6-3
4. Emilee Astle (BYU) def. Hada Chang (Denver) 7-5, 6-2
5. Helen Jiao (BYU) def. Tatum Burger (Denver) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
6. Camille Verden-Anderson (Denver) def. Madeline Almeida Wanlass (BYU) 4-6, 6-2, 4-3 WR
Order of finish: 3, 1, 4, 2, 5, 6