BOISE, Idaho – Senior Madeline Almeida Wanlass's fifth singles win of the season helped BYU women’s tennis (6-1) defeat Boise State (2-1), 5-2, at the Boas Indoor Tennis Facility on Friday.
“We're still working through a few kinks, but building confidence with every match, said BYU head coach Holly Parkinson Hasler. "The doubles point was key for us tonight. I’m proud of the girls for pulling through some tight situations.”
BYU had a nice start to the match as Anastasia Abramyan and Helen Jiao teamed up in the No. 1 spot and took down Shauna Heffernan and Joana Baptista, 6-3. Leah Heimuli and Emilee Astle battled as the No. 2 team for the Cougars but fell to Pauline Ernstberger and Holly Stewart, 6-3. Qianxin Kong and Kara Lin battled back-and-forth with Vanessa Timm and Nicole Discenza, grinding out a 7-5 victory to clinch the doubles point for the Cougars. With the win, Lin moved to 6-1 on the year in doubles matches while Kong earned the first doubles win in her BYU career.
Abramyan picked up where she left off in the doubles matches, cruising to 6-3, 6-1 victory over Stewart. Wanlass followed, defeating Discenza, 6-1, 6-3, to remain perfect on the year in singles matches at 5-0. Heimuli fought hard in the second set, but lost to Baptista, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2). Kong got the Cougars back on track with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 win over Timm to give the Cougars the deciding fourth point of the night. Kong's win was also her first singles win at BYU. Jiao fought early but was ultimately defeated by Ernstberger, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. Astle closed out the night for the Cougars, beating Heffernan 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 to give BYU its sixth win of the season.
The Cougars will travel to Colorado next week to face the Colorado Buffaloes on Friday, Feb. 19 and the Denver Pioneers on Saturday, Feb. 20. Next weekend’s matches will be the fifth and sixth consecutive road matches for BYU, who won’t play again in Provo until the first week of March.
MATCH RESULTS
BYU 5, Boise State 2
Doubles Competition
1. Anastasia Abramyan/Helen Jiao (BYU) def. Shauna Heffernan/Joana Baptista (BSU), 6-3
2. Pauline Ernstberger/Holly Stewart (BSU) def. Leah Heimuli/Emilee Astle (BYU), 6-3
3. Qianxin Kong/Kara Lin (BYU) def. Vanessa Timm/Nicole Discenza (BSU), 7-5
Order of finish: (1, 2, 3)
Singles Competition
1. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) def. Holly Stewart (BSU), 6-3, 6-1
2. Joana Baptista (BSU) def. Leah Heimuli (BYU), 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)
3. Emilee Astle (BYU) def. Shauna Heffernan (BSU), 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
4. Pauline Ernstberger (BSU) def. Helen Jiao (BYU), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3
5. Qianxin Kong (BYU) def. Vanessa Timm (BSU), 7-6 (7-2), 6-4
6. Madeline Almeida Wanlass (BYU) def. Nicole Discenza (BSU), 6-1, 6-3
Order of finish: (1, 6, 2, 5, 4, 3)