PROVO, Utah. — BYU Women's Tennis wrapped up its blue versus white scrimmage, as the Cougars continue their 2024 campaign.
"We wanted the girls to play in a home court setting with umpires and fans to get nerves out and feel comfortable competing." said head coach Holly Hasler. "It’s not easy battling against your teammates, but the girls had great sportsmanship and fought hard. We had several very close matches, and it was a huge success."
Doubles
Bobo Huang/Kaavya Sawhney (White) def. Tina Li/Kara Wheatley (Blue) 6-4
Jacque Dunyon/Emilee Astle (White) def. Kendall Kovick/Avery Pope (Blue) 6-1
Order of finish: 2, 1
In doubles action, Bobo Huang and Kaavya Sawhney of the white team defeated Tina Li and Kara Wheatley of the blue team 6-4. Jacque Dunyon and Emilee Astle, also representing the white team, overcame Kendall Kovick and Avery Pope of the blue team 6-1.
Both the Huang/Sawhney and Dunyon/Astle pairings gained early leads of 2-0. However, their opponents, Li/Wheatley and Kovick/Pope, narrowed the gap to 2-1.
Despite trailing by a single game in each match, Dunyon and Astle surged ahead, capturing four consecutive games to secure a win for the white team. Huang and Sawhney advanced their lead to 4-1, but Li's powerful serving reduced their lead to 4-3.
Li and Wheatley rallied, tying the match at 4-4 after an overhead smash by Li. Despite this comeback, Huang and Sawhney clinched two consecutive games, sealing the win for the white team.
Singles
Bobo Huang (White) def. Tina Li (Blue) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
Kendall Kovick (Blue) def. Kaavya Sawhney (White) 6-3, 6-1
Kara Wheatley (BYU) def. Jacque Dunyon (White) 7-5, 6-2
Emilee Astle (White) def. Avery Pope (Blue) 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 4, 3, 1
Huang swiftly took a 2-0 lead in the first set, eventually winning it 6-2. In the evenly matched second set, Li prevailed 6-4. In the third set, the two were tied at 1-1 before Huang went on to win 7-5 in a thriller.
Astle and Pope were neck and neck in the first set, with scores tied at 1-1, 3-3, and 4-4. Astle then clinched two straight wins for a 6-4 set victory. In the second set, despite an early challenge from Pope, Astle dominated with four consecutive wins, ending the set 6-2.
Kovick led the first set 5-2 before securing it 6-3. She continued her dominance in the second set, winning 6-1.
Early in their match, Dunyon led Wheatley 2-1, but Wheatley rebounded to win the first set 7-5 and continued her momentum to take the second set 6-2.
The Cougars now turn their attention to a match against Utah State on Feb. 2, set for an 11:00 a.m. start.