PROVO, Utah – Sophomore Anastasia Abramyan claimed BYU’s lone singles victory against a ranked opponent in the BYU women’s tennis 1-4 match against West Coast Conference opponent and No. 8 ranked Pepperdine, Saturday.

Abramyan upset Pepperdine’s No. 84 ranked Adrijana Lekaj in a dominating 6-0, 7-5 No. 2 singles matchup. With the loss to Pepperdine, the Cougars are 10-9 overall and 3-4 in WCC action.

To begin the match, the Waves took the advantage, 1-0, winning two doubles matches in a row. BYU’s Kate Cusick and Abramyan were able to tally a set against Pepperdine’s No. 31 Jessica Failla and Anastasia Iamachkine, but ultimately lost 1-6 in the No. 1 position. The Cougars’ Taylah Beckman and Samantha Smith then fell 0-6 to the Waves’ Dzina Milovanovic and Adrijana Lekaj in No. 3 doubles.

Pepperdine carried momentum into singles, tallying two more victories. BYU’s Cusick fought to take two games in No. 1 singles against No. 43 Lahey but fell 1-6, 1-6. The Cougars’ Almeida put up a good fight in her first set against Milovanovic, but was downed 4-6, 0-6 in No. 4.

To clinch the match, BYU’s Beckman lost 2-6, 4-6 to opponent Kuczer at No. 5 singles. Malykh and Smith left matches unfinished at the No. 3 and No. 6 positions.

The Cougars travel to California for their final WCC games of the year next weekend. They’ll kick off the weekend on Friday, April 19 at Pacific for a 12 p.m. PDT match at the Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center.

Doubles

1. #31 Jessica Failla/Anastasia Iamachkine (PEPP) def. Anastasia Abramyan/Kate Cusick (BYU) 6-1
2. Madeline Almeida/Polina Malykh (BYU) vs. Ashley Lahey/Daria Kuczer (PEPP) 3-3, unfinished
3. Dzina Milovanovic/Adrijana Lekaj (PEPP) def. Taylah Beckman/Samantha Smith (BYU) 6-0

Order of finish: 3,1

Singles

1. #43 Ashley Lahey (PEPP) def. Kate Cusick (BYU) 6-1, 6-1
2. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) def. #84 Adrijana Lekaj (PEPP) 6-0, 7-5
3. Polina Malykh (BYU) vs. #57 Jessica, Failla (PEPP) 6-3, 3-6, 4-4, unfinished
4. Dzina Milovanovic (PEPP) def. Madeline Almeida (BYU) 6-4, 6-0
5. Daria Kuczer (PEPP) def. Taylah Beckman (BYU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Samantha Smith (BYU) vs. Anastasia Iamachkine (PEPP) 0-6, 2-5, unfinished

Order of finish: 1, 4, 2, 5

PROVO, Utah – BYU women's tennis returns home to host two West Coast Conference matchups against Loyola Marymount and No. 9 Pepperdine this weekend.

BYU hits the court against Loyola Marymount on Friday, April 12, at 12 p.m. MDT at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts, unless weather permits outdoor play. The team then will face off against No. 9 Pepperdine on Saturday, April 13, at 12 p.m. MDT at the BYU Outdoor Tennis Courts, weather permitting. Live stats and video feed will be available on the women’s tennis schedule page.

BYU
The Cougars now hold a 10-7, 3-2 WCC record on the season. Last weekend, junior Polina Malykh broke her longest singles career winning streak, notching a 12th win for the season in the No. 3 position. BYU also recorded a 4-0 sweep over San Francisco and a disappointing 1-4 loss to Santa Clara.

Loyola Marymount
The Lions are 7-6, 2-3 WCC this season after a split weekend, beating Portland and losing to Gonzaga. BYU holds an even 4-4 all-time record with LMU, looking to take the advantage this weekend.

No. 9 Pepperdine
The Waves achieved a pair of conference wins this weekend, taking 4-0 victories over Gonzaga and Portland. With the wins, Pepperdine improved its record to 14-3, 5-0 WCC. Four of their singles players are ranked this season while all three of their doubles teams are in the top 100.

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