Albuquerque, N.M. – Senior Savannah Ware and freshman Samantha Smith of BYU women's tennis advanced to the semifinal at the USTA/ITA Regional Championships held Thursday at the University of New Mexico.
Ware and Smith defeated Wyoming’s Magdalena Stencel and Dorottya Jonas, 8-1, to reach the quarterfinal match. The duo picked up a second victory on the day with an 8-4 win over Nevada’s Claudia Herrero and Carlijn Ketting.
Saturday, Ware and Smith will face UTEP’s Vivian Kulicke and Milou Pietersz in the semifinal matchup.
Also competing in doubles for the Cougars, senior Mayci Jones and freshman Polina Malykh fell to Utah’s Jena Cheng and Taylor Calton, 8-2. Sophomore Taylah Beckman and freshman Kate Cusick also fell short in the round of 16, losing 8-2 to Colorado’s Chloe Hule and Jeannez Daniel.
In the singles draw, despite reaching the round of 16, Jones fell to the Nevada's Herrero, 7-6(2), 1-6, 6-4.
Tournament play continues Saturday with singles beginning at 9 a.m. MDT, and doubles play starting at 10 a.m. MDT.