PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s tennis battled back from an early deficit to defeat Cincinnati 4–3 Thursday afternoon in the Cougars’ first outdoor match of the season at the Outdoor Tennis Courts.
Cincinnati secured the early advantage by claiming the doubles point with wins on courts one and two. BYU’s lone doubles victory came from Sue Yan Tan and Lewis, who cruised to a 6–1 win on court three to keep the Cougars within striking distance heading into singles play.
The Cougars responded quickly in singles competition.
Gracie Levelston set the tone at the top of the lineup with a convincing 6–1, 6–3 win at No. 1 singles to even the match. YuYun Chen followed with a dominant 6–0, 6–4 performance on court four to give BYU its first lead of the afternoon.
At No. 5 singles, Sage Bergeson delivered another steady performance, winning 6–3, 6–2 to put the Cougars within one point of clinching the match.
Two tightly contested matches went the Bearcats’ way. Kendall Kovick battled through a three-set match at No. 2 singles before falling in a deciding tiebreak, while Tan fought hard at No. 3 singles before falling 7–5, 6–3.
That left the final decision to Lewis on court six.
After dropping a tight opening set 7–5, Lewis dug in and refused to let the match slip away. The freshman responded with relentless rallies and clutch points down the stretch, taking the second set 6–4 before closing out the third set 6–4 to secure the clinching point and complete BYU’s comeback victory.
BYU head coach Holly Hasler credited the team’s resilience after the match.
“Today was all about grit,” Hasler said. “We didn’t play our cleanest tennis, but the team stayed tough and kept fighting for every point. Cincinnati made us earn every point we played, and I’m proud of how our players responded in the tight moments to pull out a 4–3 win.”
With the win, BYU improves to 12–4 on the season.
Up Next
The Cougars remain in Provo to host West Virginia on Saturday, March 14, at 10 a.m. MDT at the Outdoor Tennis Courts.