PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s tennis (7-5) fell to rival Utah (6-2), 4-2, at the BYU Outdoor Tennis Courts on Wednesday.
“Tonight‘s loss was definitely disappointing,” said BYU head coach Holly Parkinson Hasler. “We’ve got to dig deeper when the going gets tough and adversity hits. The doubles point was key tonight and we just didn’t play well. The girls struggled bouncing back, and Utah played with more confidence than we did. The loss is frustrating, but mostly because we beat ourselves tonight.”
Utah started the match off with a win at No. 1 doubles. Anastasia Abramyan and Helen Jiao fought early but were eventually defeated by Madeline Lamoreaux and Emily Dush, 6-3. Anya Lamoreaux and Jasmine Rich clinched the doubles point for the Utes after beating Kara Lin and Elizabeth Tullis in the No. 3 spot, 6-4. Leah Heimuli and Emilee Astle were trailing 5-3 when Utah clinched, and ended up not finishing that contest.
Dush gave Utah its second point of the match, defeating Lin 6-1, 6-2. Heimuli battled into the third set but Utah’s Hung had just enough to pull out a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory. Abramyan dominated the third set, putting the Cougars on the board in a big 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-1 victory in the No. 1 slot.
Emilee Astle brought the Cougars within one, at 3-2, with a comeback win over Goncharova. After losing the first set 7-6 (6), Astle fired back, winning 6-2, 6-4. Xenia de Luna battled hard in the No. 6 spot but suffered her first loss of the season in singles play to Lamoreaux, clinching the fourth point and win for the Utes. Jiao won her first set 6-4, lost the second 4-6, and was trailing 1-5 when Utah sealed the victory.
The Cougars will stay home to face Grand Canyon on Friday at 9 a.m. MST. The Lopes (1-5) are coming off a 4-3 loss to Drake at a neutral location on Sunday. Live stats and a live stream will be available online.
At this time, spectators at home matches are still limited to family members only.
MATCH RESULTS
BYU 2, Utah 4
Doubles Matches
1. Madeline Lamoreaux/Emily Dush (UU) def. Anastasia Abramyan/Helen Jiao (BYU), 6-3
2. Anastasia Goncharova/Lindsay Hung (UU) v. Leah Heimuli/Emilee Astle (BYU), 5-3 UF
3. Anya Lamoreaux/Jasmine Rich (UU) def. Kara Lin/Elizabeth Tullis (BYU), 6-4
Order of finish: (1, 3)
Singles Matches
1. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) def. Madeline Lamoreaux (UU), 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-1
2. Lindsay Hung (UU) def. Leah Heimuli (BYU), 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
3. Emily Dush (UU) def. Kara Lin (BYU), 6-1, 6-2
4. Emilee Astle (BYU) def. Anastasia Goncharova (UU), 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-4
5. Helen Jiao (BYU) v. Madison Tattini (UU) 6-4, 4-6, 1-5 UF
6. Anya Lamoreaux (UU) def. Xenia de Luna (BYU), 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: (3, 2, 1, 4, 6)