PROVO, Utah--The first day of the BYU Invitational ended with the Cougars dominating the early rounds of singles, securing seven out of eight spots for the quarterfinals, Thursday.
“I was happy with how we came out today in singles,” BYU coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. “We still have things we need to work on and fine tune in doubles.”
BYU is back on track to regain the tournament titles with strong outings by the returning players as well as the incoming freshmen.
In the main singles draw, BYU’s Nicolette Tran advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Southern Utah’s Veronika Rogova. Fellow team member Morgan Anderson beat her opponent Silvia Zhelyazkova of Wyoming, 6-4, 6-3.
Desiree Tran cruised to the quarters with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Evgenia Marushko of Southern Utah. Upperclassman Meghan Sheehan-Dizon also advanced with a win 6-3, 6-0, against freshman teammate Toby Miclat. Sophomore Mackenna Maddox moved into the second round with a 6-2, 6-2, win against Madeline Skaras of Southern Utah. Maddox then defeated Wyoming’s Dorottya Jonas in a close two-set victory, 7-6, 7-5.
Freshmen Mayci Jones and Savannah Ware round out the seven BYU players to make the quarterfinals. Jones defeated Alena Vasileva of Wyoming in a solid 6-3, 6-0 win.
Ware beat Southern Utah’s Aleksandra Ivanova in the first round 6-2, 6-3. Following that win, Ware fought back in the second round match against Wyoming junior Jessica Parizher. After losing the first set 2-6, Ware came back and won the following two sets, 6-2, 6-3. The victory pits freshmen Ware and Jones against each other for a spot in the semifinals.
Miclat also earned a hard-fought win against Christa Gecheva of Wyoming, 6-1, 7-6.
In doubles action, the Cougars secured half the spots in the semifinals. The team of Jones and Sheehan-Dizon won 8-3 against Marushko and Vasileva of Southern Utah.
The BYU sisters team of Nicolette and Desiree Tran dominated the SUU team of Skaras and Afton Staheli, 8-0. After advancing to the quarterfinals, the Tran sisters came away with another victory, 8-4, against Jonas and Veronica Popovici, the No. 1 doubles seed.
Anderson and Maddox advanced into the second round where they lost to Alma Espinosa and Zhelyazkova of Wyoming, 8-4. Miclat and Ware also advanced to the second round with an 8-2 win over Ivanova and Rogova of Southern Utah before falling to Wyoming’s Gecheva and Parizher, 8-6.
The BYU Invitational continues with doubles at 9 a.m. Friday on the outdoor courts. Singles play resumes at 10 a.m.
Admission is free and open to the public. Tournament results can be viewed on the USTA website.