Cougars Earn First Wins of the Fall at USTA SoCal Championships

Newcomers Karina Mohamed, YuYun Chen, Sage Bergeson and Bella Lewis each secured their first singles victories in San Diego.

Cougars Earn First Wins of the Fall at USTA SoCal ChampionshipsCougars Earn First Wins of the Fall at USTA SoCal Championships
Ellie Alder/BYU

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — BYU women’s tennis opened its fall schedule this weekend at the USTA SoCal Championships hosted by the University of San Diego, highlighted by first-career victories for newcomers Karina Mohamed, YuYun Chen, Sage Bergeson and Bella Lewis.

Singles Action

In the Round of 64, Karina Mohamed earned a thrilling three-set victory over Hams Metwali of Grand Canyon University, 7-6, 2-6, 7-6. Sage Bergeson battled hard but fell to Duru Durgun of San Jose State University, 4-6, 7-6, 3-6, while Bella Lewis was defeated by Vilma Hyllested of the University of San Diego, 1-6, 5-7.

In the Round of 32, Yu-Yun Chen advanced with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Kristina Nordikyan of the University of San Diego, while Mohamed’s run ended with a 1-6, 4-6 loss to Amahee Charrier of the University of Nevada.

Chen continued her strong performance in the Round of 16, defeating Natalia Fantini of Tulane University, 6-1, 6-4, before falling in the quarterfinals to No. 2 seed Krisha Mahendran of USC, 1-6, 3-6.

Doubles Action

The doubles teams faced tough competition throughout the tournament. Chen and Bergeson narrowly fell to Duru Durgun and Emma Fantousis of San Jose State University, 6-7, while Mohamed and Lewis were defeated by USC, 6-2.

Up Next

The Cougars return home to host the ITA Regionals in Provo, set for Oct. 7-12, as top talent from across the region comes to compete.