PROVO, Utah — The BYU women's tennis team secured its sixth win of the season and second consecutive victory by defeating Colorado State 6-1 on Saturday.
"Colorado State came out really strong today. Doubles was close and I loved the fight and energy we came up with to turn things around," said head coach Holly Hasler. "We’ve set some very specific goals focusing on what we can control and today was a big positive step in the right direction. Today’s win should give some great confidence as we head to California for two tough matches next weekend."
The Cougars (6-1, 0-0 Big 12) are off to a 6-1 start for the first time since 2021, with nationally ranked No. 100 Bobo Huang improving to 5-0 in singles this season.
Senior Kara Wheatley moved to 5-1 in singles on the year, while senior Emilee Astle remains undefeated in singles, improving to 3-0 on the season.
BYU has now won two matches in a row and is set to head to California for two matches next weekend.
Doubles
- Astle/Kovick (BYU) def. Buzkova/Zhadzinskaya (CSU), 7-6 (4)
- Huang/Sawhney (BYU) def. Lennon/Weekley (CSU), 6-3
- Li/Wheatley (BYU) def. Richterova/Voeks (CSU), 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Huang and Sawhney trailed Lennon and Weekley 2-1 before evening the score at 2-2. Both teams were tied again at 3-3 before Huang and Sawhney took a 4-3 lead. Later in the set, Huang and Sawhney were tied 40-40 in their ninth game before winning their match 6-3, securing the first doubles victory for BYU.
Li and Wheatley took an early 2-0 lead and later extended it to 4-1 before winning 6-2, clinching the doubles point for the Cougars.
Astle and Kovick were tied with Buzkova and Zhadzinskaya 1-1 but later trailed 4-1. Astle and Kovick trimmed their deficit to 4-3 following two straight wins for the duo. The duo continued to fight back and evened the score at 4-4 before Colorado State regained the lead at 5-4. Astle and Kovick rallied to even the score at 5-5, eventually winning their match after a tiebreak, propelling BYU to a doubles sweep of CSU.
The Cougars have secured the doubles point in every match this season.
Singles
- No. 100 Bobo Huang (BYU) def. Radka Buzkova (CSU), 6-2, 6-1
- Zara Lennon (CSU) def. Tina Li (BYU), 6-2, 6-3
- Kendall Kovick (BYU) def. Sarah Weekley (CSU), 6-1, 5-7, 6-1
- Kara Wheatley (BYU) def. Sarka Richterova (CSU), 6-4, 6-0
- Emilee Astle (BYU) def. Luana Avelar (CSU), 6-0, 6-2
- Maddy Smith (BYU) def. Logan Voeks (CSU), 0-6, 6-3, 10-7
Order of finish: 4, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6
Wheatley and Richterova were even at 2-2 and 4-4 before Wheatley won the first set 6-4. Wheatley then cruised to a 6-0 victory in the second set, securing the first singles match victory of the afternoon for the Cougars.
Huang led 2-1 in the first set and went on to win 6-2. In the second set, Huang led 2-1 once again before winning 6-1, securing the second singles match for BYU.
Li trailed 4-2 and went on to lose the first set 6-2. Li and Lennon were tied 1-1 to begin the second set before Li took a 2-1 lead. Later in the set, Li trailed 4-3 before falling 6-3, marking CSU's first singles victory of the match.
Kovick took a quick 4-0 lead and won the first set 6-1. In the second set, Kovick led 3-1 before Weekley evened the score at 3-3. The two were tied again at 4-4 before Weekley took a 6-5 lead and won the set 7-5. In the third set, Kovick led 3-0 before winning 6-1, clinching the overall match for BYU.
Astle led 2-0 in the first set and won 6-0. In the second set, Astle led 3-0 and won 6-2, giving the Cougars their fifth victory of the day.
Smith trailed 3-0 and lost the first set 6-0. In the second set, Smith quickly led 4-1 and won 6-3, forcing a third-set tiebreak. In the tiebreak, both Smith and Voeks were tied at 3-3 before Voeks took a 6-4 lead. Smith then won two straight points to even the score at 6-6 before taking an 8-7 lead and ultimately winning 10-7, securing BYU's sixth win of the match.
The Cougars will face Fresno State next Friday on the road, with the match starting at noon Pacific time.