PROVO -- In an intense and exciting match, the No. 68 BYU women’s tennis team fell 4-3 to No. 22 DePaul Saturday. With the loss, the Cougars drop to 3-6 on the season.
“Every team creates their own luck,” BYU coach Joey Johnson said. “The two main factors in doing that are the day-to-day things like practice and intensity and coming together as a team. That second part is happening but it’s a process and something we need to keep working on.”
It was a fight to the finish in doubles play to start the match. At the No. 1 spot, No. 27 McCall Jones and Megan Price challenged No. 9 Anna Redecsi and Selma Salkovic every step of the way. On court three, Elle Carney and Chie Hayasaka trailed their opponents 6-2 before pulling to within one at 7-6. Each of the three BYU duos fought off at least one match point, but DePaul ultimately swept the pairs contests with 8-6 wins at each position to earn the point.
“The team played well and I’m proud of them,” Johnson said.
DePaul also struck first in singles with a 6-3, 6-2 win on court three. Kristina Doerr and Jones captured their respective matches in straight-sets to bring the score to two-all. Romina Nedakovic put the Cougars ahead by defeating Blue Demon Sandra Zmak.
In order to win, BYU needed to secure a victory in one of the two remaining matches. In her regular season debut, freshman Aubrey Paul found her rhythm in the second set but it was too late and she fell 6-1, 6-3. The result hinged on the match between Carney and DePaul’s Gia McKnight at the No. 5 position. Carney dropped the first set 6-3 but came back to force a second set tiebreak. After some intense play and a controversial late call, DePaul walked away with the match and the overall 4-3 win.
“Elle’s match was one of the best matches of the day because she didn’t give up and she kept fighting,” Johnson said.
BYU will remain at home next week when it hosts No. 64 Fresno State Saturday.
Results
No. 68 BYU-3
No. 22 DePaul-4
Doubles
1. No. 9 Redecsi/Salkovic (DePaul) def. No. 27 Jones/Price (BYU) 8-6
2. McKinght/Milinkovic (DePaul) def. Doerr/Nedakovic (BYU) 8-6
3. Gambrell/Zmack (DePaul) def. Carney/Hayasaka (BYU) 8-6
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. No. 77 M. Jones (BYU) def. A. Redecsi (DePaul) 6-2, 6-4
2. K. Doerr (BYU) def. S. Salkovic (DePaul) 6-0, 6-3
3. K. Milinkovic (DePaul) def. C. Hayasaka (BYU) 6-3, 6-2
4. R. Nedakovic (BYU) def. S. Zmak (DePaul) 6-4, 6-4
5. G. McKnight (DePaul) def. E. Carney (BYU) 6-3, 7-6 (10)
6. K. Gambrell (DePaul) def. A. Paul (BYU) 6-1, 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1, 4, 6, 5