PROVO, Utah — No. 45 BYU women’s tennis shook off an early deficit and stormed back in singles play to defeat West Virginia 4-2 Saturday morning at the Outdoor Tennis Courts.
West Virginia struck first in doubles, taking the early 1-0 lead by winning matches on courts two and three. The Cougars’ lone doubles victory came from Gracie Levelston and Karina Mohamed, who delivered a dominant 6-1 win at the No. 1 spot.
The Mountaineers extended their advantage early in singles play when Kendall Kovick fell 6-2, 6-3 on court two, giving West Virginia a 2-0 lead in the match.
From there, the Cougars took control.
YuYun Chen ignited the comeback with a flawless performance at No. 4 singles, cruising to a 6-0, 6-0 sweep to put BYU on the board. Sue Yan Tan followed soon after with a confident 6-2, 6-2 win on court three to even the match.
Mohamed continued the surge with a strong showing at No. 5 singles, defeating her opponent 6-0, 6-3 to give BYU its first lead of the morning.
With the match on the line, freshman Sage Bergeson delivered the clincher for the Cougars at No. 6 singles. Bergeson battled through a tight opening set before pulling away in the second to secure the fourth point and seal the BYU victory.
Levelston was also in control on court one, leading 6-4, 4-3 when play was halted after the Cougars secured the team win.
The comeback victory pushed BYU to 13-4 on the season.
Up Next
The Cougars hit the road for a pair of Big 12 battles next week, beginning with a trip to Boulder to face Colorado on Thursday, March 19 at 12 p.m. MDT. BYU will then travel to Lubbock to take on Texas Tech on Saturday, March 21 at 11 a.m. MDT as conference play continues.