FRESNO, Calif. – BYU women’s tennis (5-1) lost its first match of the year to Cal Poly (2-0), 6-1, on Saturday at the Mustang Tennis Complex. The Cougars now return to Provo after taking two of three on their trip to California.
“We struggled with our depth today and converting the big points,” said BYU head coach Holly Parkinson Hasler. “It was definitely a great learning experience going into next weekend’s matches.”
BYU stumbled out of the gates, as Anastasia Abramyan and Qianxin Kong were defeated in the No. 1 doubles spot by Cal Poly’s Emily Ackerman and Kim Bhunu, 6-1. The Cougars lost the doubles point when Emilee Astle and Helen Jiao were defeated by Dominique Stone and MacKenzie Worsnop, 6-3. Leah Heimuli and Kara Lin teamed up in the No. 2 spot and defeated Delanie Dunkle and Melissa LaMette, 7-6.
The Mustangs kept things rolling into the singles matches. Dunkle defeated No. 4 Astle, 6-0, 6-1 to begin singles play. It was Astle’s first defeat of the season. Jiao couldn’t keep up with Ackerman, as she fell 6-3, 6-3. A loss by Abramyan in the No. 1 spot followed, 6-2, 6-4, to Stone. Wanlass collected the Cougars’ lone win of the day, defeating Grace Olyphant, 6-2, 6-2. After winning the first set, 6-1, Lin lost the next two, 6-3, 6-2. The day ended with Bhunu completing a comeback against Heimuli, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3.
The Cougars will travel to Boise next weekend to face Boise State (2-0) and Montana (1-2). The Boise State match will come first, with a start time of 5 p.m. MST on Friday, Feb. 12. The Broncos defeated Idaho State, 5-2, and Lewis-Clark State, 7-0, on Saturday to kick off their season.
MATCH RESULTS
BYU 1, Cal Poly 6
Doubles Competition
1. Emily Ackerman/Kim Bhunu (CPW) def. Anastasia Abrayam/Qianxin Kong (BYU), 6-1
2. Leah Heimuli/Kara Lin (BYU) def. Delanie Dunkle/Melissa LaMette (CPW), 7-6
3. Dominique Stone/MacKenzie Worsnop (CPW) def. Emilee Astle/Helen Jiao (BYU) 6-3
Order of finish: (1, 3, 2)
Singles Competition
1. Dominique Stone (CPW) def. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU), 6-2, 6-4
2. Kim Bhunu (CPW) def. Leah Heimuli (BYU), 5-7, 6-1, 6-3
3. Melissa LaMette (CPW) def. Kara Lin (BYU), 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
4. Delanie Dunkle def. Emilee Astle (BYU), 6-0, 6-1
5. Emily Ackerman (CPW) def. Helen Jiao (BYU), 6-3, 6-3
6. Madeline Almeida Wanlass (BYU) def. Grace Olyphant (CPW), 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: (4, 5, 1, 6, 3, 2)