BERKELEY, Calif. — BYU women's tennis fell to Auburn 4-0 Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, in the team's first appearance since 2007.
With the loss, the Cougars wrapped up a 17-8 record on the season. BYU finished the year with 17 victories, its highest win total since 2007, and completed a successful first year in the Big 12 with an 8-5 record.
Doubles:
- Bennett/Arseneault (AU) def. Astle/Kovick (BYU), 6-1
- Cogan/Flach (AU) def. Huang/Sawhney (BYU), 6-3
- Ansari/DeSpain (AU) uf. Wheatley/Li (BYU), 5-5
The order of finish was 1, 2
Astle and Kovick were tied with Bennett and Arseneault 1-1 before BYU dropped three consecutive games to trail 4-1. Bennett and Arseneault won the match 6-1, giving Auburn its first doubles victory.
Huang and Sawhney fell behind 2-0 before winning two straight games to even the score at 2-2. Cogan and Flach went on a run, leading 5-2 before Huang and Sawhney cut the deficit to 5-3. The Tigers held on and won 6-3, securing the doubles point for Auburn.
Li and Wheatley trailed 2-0 before cutting the deficit to 3-2. Ansari and DeSpain maintained their lead and were ahead 5-3 before Li and Wheatley brought the score to 5-4. They eventually tied it at 5-5 before the match was left unfinished.
Singles:
- No. 9 Carolyn Ansari (AU) def. No. 124 Bobo Huang (BYU), 6-1, 6-3
- No. 64 DJ Bennett (AU) uf. Tina Li (BYU), 7-6 (10), 1-0
- No. 90 Ariana Arsenault (AU) def. Kaavya Sawhney (BYU), 6-2, 6-3
- Adeline Flach (AU) uf. Kendall Kovick (BYU), 2-6, 6-2, 0-2
- Ava Esposito Cogan (AU) def. Kara Wheatley (BYU), 7-5, 6-3
- Ali DeSpain (AU) uf. Maddy Smith (BYU), 2-6, 5-3
The order of finish was 3, 5, 1
Sawhney fell behind 3-0 before Arsenault led 5-2 and won the first set 6-2. In the second set, Sawhney took a 2-1 lead before Arsenault fought back to win 6-3, clinching the first singles match for the Tigers and extending their lead to 2-0.
Wheatley jumped out to a 3-1 lead before Cogan evened the score at 3-3. They were tied again at 4-4 before Cogan won the first set 7-5. Cogan took a 3-2 lead in the second set and won 6-3, giving Auburn a 3-0 lead.
Huang trailed 3-0 before Ansari led 5-1 and won the first set 6-1. In the second set, Ansari led 3-1, then 5-3 and won 6-3 to clinch the match for the Tigers 4-0.
The remainder of the matches were left unfinished.
Li trailed 3-1 but cut her deficit to 4-3 before tying the score at 4-4. They were tied again at 5-5 and 6-6 before competing in a tiebreaker. Tied at 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9 and 10-10 in the tiebreaker, Bennett won 12-10, taking the first set 7-6 (10). Bennett led 1-0 in the second set when the match was left unfinished.
Kovick and Flach were tied 2-2 in the first set before Kovick took a 5-2 lead and won the first set 6-2. Flach led 4-2 in the second set and won 6-2. Kovick led 3-0 in the third set when the match was left unfinished.
Smith led 3-1 and later extended her lead to 4-2 before winning the first set 6-2. Smith and DeSpain were tied 2-2 in the second set before DeSpain took a 5-3 lead at which point the match was left unfinished.