PROVO -- A close match went the Cougars’ way Saturday as the No. 40 women’s tennis team slipped by Nevada 4-3. With the win, BYU improved to 3-4 on the season while the Wolfpack fell to 1-2.
Freshmen McCall Jones and Romina Nedakovic took the first doubles match of the day with an 8-5 win at the No. 1 position. The Cougars dropped the match on court two 8-6, and the doubles point rested with sophomores Elle Carney and Liza Ezhova at No. 3.
“I was upset with the way we played doubles,” BYU coach Craig Manning said. “Everyone’s playing with fear and I don’t know why.”
The pair came back from a 3-6 deficit to even the match at eight and force a tiebreak for the point. Despite another comeback, the Cougar effort was not enough to earn the victory and the Wolfpack secured the first point.
Chie Hayasaka tied things up for BYU after making quick work of her opponent on court three. The Cougars continued rolling with a victory by Jones at the No. 1 position. But Nevada pushed back, winning in straight sets on court four.
“The girls did exactly what we’ve been working on in singles,” Manning said.
Kristina Doerr took the first set in her marathon match before giving up the second. The junior came back to in the third set, but Nevada’s Florence De Vrye overpowered her in the tiebreak. The Cougars needed to win both remaining matches to clinch the victory.
Freshman Megan Price battled through three sets to put BYU within one point of win. The match came down to Carney on court six. She won the first set but lost the second and everything rested on the third. Carney fought hard and clinched the match for the Cougars.
“In singles, we were relaxed, hit the ball, didn’t worry about winning or losing and played really great tennis,” Manning said.
The team will return to the Midwest next week to take on Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma State.
Match Results
BYU- 4
Nevada-3
Doubles
1. Jones/Nedakovic (BYU) def. De Vrye/Ogata (Nevada) 8-5
2. Bailly/Mizyuk (Nevada) def. Doerr/Price (BYU) 8-6
3. Stevens/Lombard (Nevada) def. Carney/Ezhova (BYU) 9-8 (9-7)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1. M. Jones (BYU) def. C. Bailly (Nevada) 6-4, 6-2
2. F. De Vrye (Nevada) def. K. Doerr (BYU) 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
3. C. Hayasaka (BYU) def. L. Ogata (Nevada) 6-1, 6-0
4. M. Mizyuk (Nevada) def. R. Nedakovic (BYU) 6-2, 6-3
5. M. Price (BYU) def. C. Stevens (Nevada) 7-6 (7-1), 3-6, 6-2
6. E. Carney (BYU) def. A. Lombard (Nevada) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 4, 2, 5, 6