BOISE, Idaho – Senior Madeline Almeida Wanlass's fifth singles win of the season helped BYU women’s tennis (6-1) defeat Boise State (2-1), 5-2, at the Boas Indoor Tennis Facility on Friday.

“We're still working through a few kinks, but building confidence with every match, said BYU head coach Holly Parkinson Hasler. "The doubles point was key for us tonight. I’m proud of the girls for pulling through some tight situations.”

BYU had a nice start to the match as Anastasia Abramyan and Helen Jiao teamed up in the No. 1 spot and took down Shauna Heffernan and Joana Baptista, 6-3. Leah Heimuli and Emilee Astle battled as the No. 2 team for the Cougars but fell to Pauline Ernstberger and Holly Stewart, 6-3. Qianxin Kong and Kara Lin battled back-and-forth with Vanessa Timm and Nicole Discenza, grinding out a 7-5 victory to clinch the doubles point for the Cougars. With the win, Lin moved to 6-1 on the year in doubles matches while Kong earned the first doubles win in her BYU career.

Abramyan picked up where she left off in the doubles matches, cruising to 6-3, 6-1 victory over Stewart. Wanlass followed, defeating Discenza, 6-1, 6-3, to remain perfect on the year in singles matches at 5-0. Heimuli fought hard in the second set, but lost to Baptista, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2). Kong got the Cougars back on track with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 win over Timm to give the Cougars the deciding fourth point of the night. Kong's win was also her first singles win at BYU. Jiao fought early but was ultimately defeated by Ernstberger, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. Astle closed out the night for the Cougars, beating Heffernan 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 to give BYU its sixth win of the season.

The Cougars will travel to Colorado next week to face the Colorado Buffaloes on Friday, Feb. 19 and the Denver Pioneers on Saturday, Feb. 20. Next weekend’s matches will be the fifth and sixth consecutive road matches for BYU, who won’t play again in Provo until the first week of March. 

MATCH RESULTS

BYU 5, Boise State 2

Doubles Competition

1. Anastasia Abramyan/Helen Jiao (BYU) def. Shauna Heffernan/Joana Baptista (BSU), 6-3

2. Pauline Ernstberger/Holly Stewart (BSU) def. Leah Heimuli/Emilee Astle (BYU), 6-3

3. Qianxin Kong/Kara Lin (BYU) def. Vanessa Timm/Nicole Discenza (BSU), 7-5

Order of finish: (1, 2, 3)

Singles Competition

1. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) def. Holly Stewart (BSU), 6-3, 6-1

2. Joana Baptista (BSU) def. Leah Heimuli (BYU), 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)

3. Emilee Astle (BYU) def. Shauna Heffernan (BSU), 6-2, 4-6, 7-5

4. Pauline Ernstberger (BSU) def. Helen Jiao (BYU), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3

5. Qianxin Kong (BYU) def. Vanessa Timm (BSU), 7-6 (7-2), 6-4

6. Madeline Almeida Wanlass (BYU) def. Nicole Discenza (BSU), 6-1, 6-3

Order of finish: (1, 6, 2, 5, 4, 3)

PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s tennis (5-1) will look to rebound from last week’s loss when it travels to Boise, Idaho to face Boise State (2-0). The Cougars were slated to face Montana (1-2) on Saturday but that match has been postponed due to COVID-19 related protocols within the Montana program.

The Cougars are coming off of a road loss to Cal Poly, but took two out of three matches in California. Prior to the loss to the Mustangs, BYU matched its best start to a season since 2005-06, after defeating Sacramento State, Fresno State, Dixie State (twice) and Weber State. BYU was clicking on all cylinders and had outscored its opponents 31-2 before dropping the match to Cal Poly, 6-1. The Cougars will look to regroup as they face a tough Boise State team.

Boise State had an impressive start to the season in its own right, rolling past Idaho State, 5-2, and Lewis-Clark State, 7-0. Last spring, the Broncos rattled off five-straight wins before a 4-0 loss to Utah concluded their season. Boise State finished the year 9-3. This year’s Broncos are young, made up of seven freshmen, a sophomore and a junior. The 2018 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year, Beck Roghaar, will look to his freshmen to provide the success his team had a year ago.

Saturday will feature a neutral site matchup between BYU and Montana**. The Grizzlies have been plagued by canceled contests, playing in just three of its first seven scheduled matches. Montana opened the season at Gonzaga, getting swept, 7-0. The Grizzlies bounced back, beating Lewis-Clark State, 7-0, but are coming off another 7-0 defeat to Washington State. Saturday will have marked two weeks since the Grizzlies were last on the court. Montana features a sophomore- and junior-laden team, with just one freshman and one senior. This will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.

**UPDATE: Due to COVID-19 related protocols within the Montana program, Saturday's match between BYU and Montana has been postponed. 

BYU Doubles Records

1. Anastasia Abramyan & Madeline Almeida Wanlass (0-1)
2. Leah Heimuli & Kara Lin (5-1)
3. Emilee Astle & Helen Jiao (4-1)
4. Madeline Almeida Wanlass & Elizabeth Tullis (2-0)
5. Anastasia Abramyan & Elizabeth Tullis (2-0)
6. Anastasia Abramyan & Qianxin Kong (0-1)

BYU Singles Records

1. Anastasia Abramyan (2-1)
2. Leah Heimuli (5-1)
3. Kara Lin (4-2)
4. Emilee Astle (4-1)
5. Helen Jiao (4-1)
6. Madeline Almeida Wanlass (4-0)
7. Xenia De Luna (3-0)
8. Elizabeth Tullis (2-0)

Boise State Match Information – February 12

• Time: 5 p.m. MST
• Live Stats: Link

Montana Match – Postponed**