PROVO, Utah – After falling behind 1-0 in doubles, the BYU women’s tennis team came back to take four-straight singles wins and claim the match, 4-3, against UNLV on Saturday.

"Today was a break through for the team," Head Coach Holly Parkinson Hasler said. "After a tough loss yesterday, they came out against a very tough opponent determined and with a will to win. UNLV was not ready for us. We played with more heart than I've seen this season and i'm hoping this will be a great confidence builder for the team. I am so proud of these girls."

Polina Malykh took her second match in two days as she won 6-3, 6-2 against the Rebel’s Izumi Asano. Malykh’s overall record on the season is now 6-2. Kate Cusick, Madeline Almeida and Taylah Beckman also claimed victories, helping to increase BYU’s winning record to 5-3.

The Cougars fell to a 1-0 deficit after doubles play; Kate Cusick and Anastasia Abramyan battled in their No. 1 doubles match against UNLV’s No. 42 Aiwen Zhu and En-Pei Huang, taking four sets. However, the Rebels ultimately came out on top, winning the match 6-4. BYU’s Samantha Smith and Taylah Beckman were then defeated in No. 3 doubles against UNLV’s Anna Bogoslavets and Samantha Li, 6-1. The Cougars’ Malykh and Madeline Almeida left an unfinished match in No. 2 doubles at 5-5.

BYU then came back to win four-straight matches in singles; Malykh took the first win which was followed by a 6-4, 6-2 Almeida victory in No. 5 doubles against the Rebel’s Connie Li. Cusick then snapped her singles losing streak as she defeated UNLV’s Bogoslavets, 6-4, 6-3 in the No. 2 position. Beckman rounded out the Cougar wins in No. 6 singles, taking a 6-3, 6-4 win over the Rebel’s Samantha Li.

To finish off the match day, BYU’s Abramyan tallied a set against UNLV’s No. 84 singles Zhu, but lost the match 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 in No. 1 singles. The Cougars’ Samantha Smith also suffered a loss in No. 4 singles against Huang, 7-5, 6-1.

BYU will play its last match of the weekend against Fresno State on Monday March 4 at 11 a.m. PST at the Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center.

Doubles

1. #42 Aiwen Zhu/En-Pei Huang (UNLV) def. Kate Cusick/Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) 6-4
2. Polina Malykh/Madeline Almeida (BYU) vs. Connie Li/Izumi Asano (UNLV) 5-5, unfinished
3. Anna Bogoslavets/Samantha Li (UNLV) def. Samantha Smith/Taylah Beckman (BYU) 6-1

Singles

1. #84 Aiwen Zhu (UNLV) def. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) 6-0, 4-6, 6-2
2. Kate Cusick (BYU) def. Anna Bogoslavets (UNLV) 6-4, 6-3
3. Polina Malykh (BYU) def. Izumi Asano (UNLV) 6-3, 6-2
4. En-Pei Huang (UNLV) def. Samantha Smith (BYU) 7-5, 6-1
5. Madeline Almeida (BYU) def. Connie Li (UNLV) 6-4, 6-2
6. Taylah Beckman (BYU) def. Samantha Li (UNLV) 6-3, 6-4

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PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s tennis continues its road trip, playing next against Arizona, UNLV and Fresno State.

Matches begin against Arizona on Friday, March 1, at noon MST at the Robson Tennis Center. The Cougars will then compete against UNLV on Saturday, March 2, at 10 a.m. MST at the same venue. On Monday, March 4, at 11 a.m. PST BYU will battle Fresno State at the Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center.

BYU

BYU is 4-2 on the season after suffering a 5-1 loss to No. 15 Washington State and then beating Seattle University 4-3. Doubles duo Samantha Smith and Taylah Beckman took another win against Seattle last weekend, increasing their season record to 5-1.

Arizona

The Wildcats (5-3) went 2-0 last weekend in a doubleheader defeating Sacramento State and Liberty University. BYU holds a 0-3 all-time record against Arizona, and looks to take its first win against Arizona this weekend.

UNLV

The Rebels (8-2) recorded wins last weekend against UC Riverside and Colorado State. The Cougars hold the advantage in their all-time record with UNLV, 10-5.

Fresno State

The Bulldogs (3-5) took two losses last weekend against No. 37 Auburn and Yale. BYU has an all-time 1-6 standing against Fresno.

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Instagram: @byuwtennis

Twitter: @BYUWTennis

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