PROVO, Utah — No. 44 BYU women's tennis defeated Cincinnati 7-0 Thursday afternoon at the Outdoor Tennis Courts for its seventh Big 12 victory in the Cougars' inaugural season in the conference.
The Cougars improved to 15-6 overall and 7-5 in Big 12 play, making it the most conference victories they have achieved in a season under head coach Holly Hasler.
BYU swept the doubles and singles matches, highlighted by No. 120 Bobo Huang's 14th singles victory of the season. The junior improved to 14-5 in 2024.
Junior Kendall Kovick secured her 10th victory of the season, improving to 10-8. Senior Emilee Astle notched her ninth singles win, and junior Maddy Smith her seventh.
Senior Kara Wheatley also recorded her 10th singles win, matching Kovick's record at 10-8. Senior Kaavya Sawhney improved her singles record to 3-6 with her victory today.
In doubles, Huang and Sawhney improved to 13-3 with a 6-0 win today. Wheatley and Smith also secured a doubles victory together in today's match. The win for Wheatley was her 50th career doubles victory at BYU.
Doubles:
- No. 52 Astle/Kovick (BYU) uf. Gruszczynska/Guenther (CIN), 4-2
- Huang/Sawhney (BYU) def. deSamucewicz/Flanagan (CIN), 6-0
- Wheatley/Smith (BYU) def. Pyrz/Watanabe (CIN), 6-1
The order of finish was 2, 3
Huang and Sawhney jumped to a 2-0 lead, extended it to 4-0 and cruised to a 6-0 victory.
Wheatley and Smith moved ahead 2-1 against Pyrz and Watanabe, extended their lead to 4-1 and clinched a 6-1 win, securing the doubles point for BYU and giving the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
Astle and Kovick trailed Gruszczynska and Guenther 2-1, took a 3-2 lead, and extended it to 4-2 before the match was left unfinished.
Singles:
- No. 120 Bobo Huang (BYU) def. Rozalia Gruszczynska (CIN), 6-2, 6-3
- Kendall Kovick (BYU) def. Vic deSamucewicz (CIN), 6-2, 6-4
- Kaavya Sawhney (BYU) def. Gabrielle Guenther (CIN), 6-4, 6-2
- Kara Wheatley (BYU) def. Callie Flanagan (CIN), 6-2, 6-4
- Emilee Astle (BYU) def. Sakurako Watanabe (CIN), 7-5, 6-7 (5), 10-5
- Maddy Smith (BYU) def. Morgan Pyrz (CIN), 7-5, 6-4
The order of finish was 3, 2, 1, 4, 6, 5
Sawhney took an early 2-1 lead, extended it to 4-1, and won the first set 6-4. In the second set, she moved ahead 2-1, expanded her lead to 5-2, and clinched the set 6-2, securing the Cougars' first singles victory and extending BYU's lead to 2-0.
Kovick led 2-1, then 4-1, before winning the first set 6-2. In the second set, she led deSamucewicz 3-2, then 5-4, and won 6-4, extending BYU's advantage to 3-0.
Huang started with a 2-1 lead in the first set, increased it to 4-1, and took the set 6-2. She fell behind 3-1 in the second set, tied it at 3-3, moved ahead 4-3, and won 6-3, clinching the match for BYU and increasing the lead to 4-0.
Wheatley led 1-0 and later 4-1 in the first set, winning 6-2. In the second set, she trailed 3-1, cut the deficit to 4-3, tied the set at 4-4, took a 5-4 lead, and won 6-4, giving the Cougars a 5-0 lead.
Smith fell behind 2-1, but rallied to lead 4-3 and then 6-5, winning the first set 7-5. In the second set, tied at 2-2, she led 5-4 and secured the set 6-4, extending BYU's lead to 6-0.
Astle went down 2-1, tied the set at 4-4, and became even again at 5-5. She took a 6-5 lead and won the first set 7-5. In the second set, tied at 2-2, Watanabe led 5-3, but Astle tied it at 6-6. Watanabe won the tiebreak 7-5, forcing a third set, which Astle won 10-5, completing a 7-0 sweep for BYU.
The Cougars conclude their regular season with Senior Day on Saturday, facing West Virginia at 11 a.m. MDT at the Outdoor Tennis Courts.