PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s tennis bested West Coast Conference foe Gonzaga 4-2 on Friday at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts.

"A huge win today," BYU head coach Holly Parkinson Hasler said. "It's amazing what can happen when you come together as a team. We were down 5-2 in the deciding doubles match and to pull that out was a huge boost of confidence going into singles. Our goal was to keep a 'play to win' mindset, and I was proud of the girls for executing. Today's win also proved how much we learned from last weekend's 4-3 loss."

The Cougars (8-5, 2-0 WCC) came out and claimed the doubles point over the Zags (6-7, 1-1 WCC). Samantha Smith and Taylah Beckman made quick work at No. 3 doubles with a 6-2 victory over Vlada Medvedcova and Sara Komer. At No. 1 doubles, Kate Cusick and Anastasia Abramyan fell 2-6 to Sophie Whittle and Graciela Rosas.

Down 5-2 at match point, Polina Malykh and Madeline Almeida battled back to take the match 7-6 off a tiebreaker-win over Domonique Garley and Kate Ketels, clinching the doubles point for BYU.

Up 1-0 going into singles, Gonzaga claimed its first point of the match. Cusick fell to Whittle at No. 1 singles, 1-6, 4-6.

The Cougars fought to take the next two singles matches at the No. 3 and 4 spots. At fourth singles, Almeida defeated Medvedcova 6-1, 6-2 and Malykh had a three-set, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 victory over Garley at third singles.

The Zags put up a fight at No. 2 singles where Abramyan fell to Rosas 7-6, 6-4. BYU answered back with a win at No. 6 singles to clinch the match. Smith topped Ketels 6-2, 7-5 to give the match to the Cougars 4-2.

BYU remains at home to host WCC foe UC Irvine on Thursday, March 28, at 12 p.m. MDT.

MATCH RESULTS

BYU 4, Gonzaga 2

DOUBLES RESULTS

1. WHITTLE, Sophie/ROSAS, Graciela (GON) def. Kate Cusick/Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) 6-2
2. Polina Malykh/Madeline Almeida (BYU) def. GARLEY, Domonique/KETELS, Kate (GON) 7-6 (7-3)
3. Samantha Smith/Taylah Beckman (BYU) def. MEDVEDCOVA, Vlada/KOMER, Sara (GON) 6-2

Order of finish: (3, 1, 2)

SINGLES RESULTS

1. WHITTLE, Sophie (GON) def. Kate Cusick (BYU) 6-1, 6-4
2. ROSAS, Graciela (GON) def. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
3. Polina Malykh (BYU) def. GARLEY, Domonique (GON) 6-3, 2-6, 6-1
4. Madeline Almeida (BYU) def. MEDVEDCOVA, Vlada (GON) 6-1, 6-2
5. Katie Fitt (BYU) vs. TSURUTA, Haruna (GON) 6-7 (3-7), 1-3, unfinished
6. Samantha Smith (BYU) def. KETELS, Kate (GON) 6-2, 7-5

Order of finish: (1, 4, 3, 2, 6)

PROVO, Utah – For the fourth match in a row, the BYU women’s tennis team will remain at home to face off against West Coast Conference foe Gonzaga this weekend.

Matches will be held on Friday, March 22, at 12 p.m. MDT at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts, unless weather permits outdoor play. Live video feed and stats will be available on the women’s tennis schedule page.

BYU

BYU is now 7-5 on the season, 1-0 WCC, after a dominating 4-1 victory over Portland and a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Utah in the Deseret First Duel. Junior Polina Malykh extended her winning streak to 9-0 after back-to-back wins last weekend. Duo Samantha Smith and Taylah Beckman extended their winning streak to 5-0 after two match wins as well.

Gonzaga

The Bulldogs hold a 6-6 record, 1-0 WCC, after suffering a 4-2 loss to UC Santa Barbara. The Cougars hold an even 4-4 all-time record with Gonzaga, looking to take the advantage after Friday’s match.

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