PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s tennis earned a 6–1 victory over Washington State on Thursday afternoon at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts. The Cougars secured the doubles point before winning five of six singles matches to pull away for the team win.
DOUBLES
BYU secured the doubles point with wins on Courts 3 and 2, while Court 1 played out a tightly contested set that went to a tiebreaker.
Bella Lewis and Sue Yan Tan were first off the court on Court 3, earning a 6–2 win over Martina Puvill and Ava-Monet Sycamore. The BYU duo jumped out to an early lead and maintained control throughout the set, building separation midway before closing out the set to give the Cougars the early edge in doubles play.
Kendall Kovick and YuYun Chen clinched the doubles point on Court 2 with a 6–4 victory over Yura Nakagawa and Eva Alvarez Sande. After BYU moved ahead 5–3, Washington State closed the gap to 5–4, but Kovick and Chen stayed composed in the final game. Kovick opened with a cross-court backhand winner, and Chen sealed the set with a service point on match point to secure the doubles point for BYU.
On Court 1, Gracie Leveston and Karina Mohamed battled through a back-and-forth set before closing out a 7–5 win over Maxine Murphy and Chisato Kanemaki. BYU erased an early deficit, including rallying from 15–40 in the second game to force deuce. Leveston delivered a key put-away at the net to give BYU a 4–3 edge before Washington State later pulled ahead 5–4. BYU responded to even the set at 5–5 and closed out the set 7–5 to complete doubles play.
SINGLES
BYU won five of six singles matches to pull away for the 6–1 team victory over Washington State.
Kovick was first off the court on Court 2, rolling to a 6–3, 6–1 win over Maxine Murphy. Kovick set the tone early by winning the opening game after an extended rally and continued to control points from the baseline, building separation in both sets before closing out the straight-set victory.
Tan followed on Court 3 with a 6–3, 7–5 win over Yura Nakagawa. Tan cruised through the opening set, jumping out to a 5–1 lead before closing it out 6–3. Washington State pushed back in the second set, taking a 5–2 advantage, but Tan responded with a late surge, tying the set at 5–5 before winning the final two games to secure the match.
On Court 1, Leveston battled but fell 6–3, 6–3 to Eva Alvarez Sande. Leveston opened the match by taking the first game of the opening set and stayed within striking distance through the early stages, but Washington State pulled away late in both sets to secure the point.
Chen added another point for BYU on Court 4, earning a 7–6 (7–2), 6–3 victory over Martina Puvill. The first set featured multiple momentum swings and remained even before moving to a tiebreaker, where Chen took control with a 7–2 win. She carried that momentum into the second set, building a 5–2 lead before closing out the match.
Sage Bergeson clinched the team win on Court 5 with a 6–3, 6–7 (10–6), 10–6 victory over Chisato Kanemaki. Bergeson took the first set 6–3 and built a 4–2 lead in the second before Washington State forced a tiebreaker. After dropping the breaker, Bergeson regrouped in the match tiebreak, jumping out to an early lead and pulling away late to secure the point.
Bella Lewis capped singles play on Court 6 with a 3–6, 7–6 (10–4), 10–4 win over Ava-Monet Sycamore. After dropping the opening set, Lewis forced a tiebreaker in the second and won it to extend the match. She carried the momentum into the match tiebreak, building an early cushion and closing out the win to complete the 5–1 singles showing for BYU.
Up Next
The Cougars return to the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts on Saturday to host Denver at 10 a.m. MT.