BOULDER, Colo. – BYU women’s tennis (6-2) lost to Colorado (5-1), 5-2, at the South Campus Tennis Complex on Friday.

The Cougars started the day off strong, with Leah Heimuli and Emilee Astle collecting BYU’s first win by defeating Ky Ecton and Fleur Eggink in the No. 2 spot. It was the first win for Heimuli and Astle as a doubles duo. Anastasia Abramyan and Helen Jiao dropped their set, 6-4, to Sara Nayar and Sophia Derivan. Colorado’s Nayar and Derivan are a perfect 6-0 on the season in doubles play. After jumping out to a 3-1 advantage over Maria Campos and Megan Forster, Cougar freshmen Qianxin Kong and Kara Lin were just able to close out the Buffs, 7-6, to clinch the doubles point for the Cougars. BYU has now collected the doubles point in six of its first eight matches.

Colorado came into the match with a combined record of 24-6 in singles play on the season, with only one player posting multiple losses. Nayar continued the Buffs’ impressive start with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Abramyan in the No. 1 spot. Just a couple minutes later, Derivan picked up the second point for Colorado, defeating Heimuli, 6-4, 6-2. Emilee Astle locked the score at two with her sixth singles win of the year and second win of the day, 7-6, 6-4. Jiao was defeated by Campos, 6-4, 6-0, and shortly after, Lin lost to Forster in the No. 4 slot, 6-4, 6-0. Kong fought hard in the final match of the day, but was defeated by Eggink, 7-6, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5). 

The Cougars stay on the road and will play at Denver tomorrow, Feb. 20. The Pioneers are coming off a 2-4 defeat at Kansas State last week and are 3-3 on the season.

MATCH RESULTS

BYU 2, Colorado 5

Doubles Competition

1. Sara Nayar/Sophia Derivan (CU) def. Anastasia Abramyan/Helen Jiao (BYU), 6-4

2. Leah Heimuli/Emilee Astle (BYU) def. Ky Ecton/Fleur Eggink (CU), 6-1

3. Qianxin Kong/Kara Lin (BYU) def. Maria Campos/Megan Forster (CU), 7-6

Order of finish: (2, 1, 3)

Singles Competition

1. Sara Nayar (CU) def. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU), 6-1, 6-3

2. Sophia Derivan (CU) def. Leah Heimuli (BYU), 6-4, 6-2

3. Emilee Astle (BYU) def. Antonia Balzert (CU), 7-6, 6-4

4. Megan Forster (CU) def. Kara Lin (BYU), 6-2, 6-4

5. Maria Campos (CU) def. Helen Jiao (BYU), 6-4, 6-0

6. Fleur Eggink (CU) def. Qianxin Kong (BYU), 7-6, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5)

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

PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s tennis will face Colorado (4-1) on Friday afternoon, Feb. 19, at the South Campus Tennis Complex and Denver (3-3) on Saturday, Feb. 20, at the Denver Tennis Park. The Cougars are coming off of a dominant 5-2 victory at Boise State on Friday.

BYU Notes (6-1, 0-0 West Coast Conference)

• The Cougars are 6-1, most recently defeating Boise State 5-2, in Boise.
• BYU has wins over Boise State, Sacramento State, Fresno State, Dixie State (twice), Weber State. The lone loss was to Cal Poly.
• The Cougars are off to their best start since the 2004-05 season when the team started 7-1. BYU went on to finish the year 20-4, with a conference championship and a win in the NCAA Championships.
• BYU is led by a trio of seniors in Anastasia Abramyan, Leah Heimuli and Madeline Almeida Wanlass. They combine for a 13-3 record in singles matches, including an impressive 5-0 start by Wanlass. The group has also gone 10-4 in doubles matches.
• Freshman Qianxin Kong logged the first career singles and doubles wins of her career against Boise State on Friday. Fellow freshmen Kara Lin and Elizabeth Tullis have made splashes as well. Lin holds a 4-2 record in singles play and 6-1 in doubles, while Tullis is 2-0 in singles matches and 4-2 in doubles.

Head Coach – Holly Parkinson Hasler

• Alma Mater: BYU, 1998
• Division I Career Record: 25-15 (3rd season)
• Record at BYU: 25-15 (3rd season)

Colorado Notes (4-1, 0-0 Pac-12)

• Colorado is 4-1, with its most recent victory coming over Wyoming, 7-0, on Saturday.
• Colorado has wins over Wyoming, Utah State, North Dakota and Metro State. The Buffs’ loss came on the road at Iowa State.
• The Buffs finished last season 8-6, but lost three of their final four matches.
• Colorado lost just one senior from a season ago and return eight players from last season.
• The last meeting between BYU and Colorado came on Feb. 6, 2010. No. 60 Colorado defeated BYU 3-4 in Provo. BYU leads the all-time series 20-1.  

Head Coach – Danielle Steinberg

• Alma Mater: Arizona, 2009
• Division I Career Record: 98-95 (10th Season)
• Record at Colorado: 22-21 (3rd Season)

Denver Notes (3-3, 0-0 Summit Conference) 

• Denver is 3-3 and was last defeated by Kansas State, 4-2, on Saturday.
• Denver has wins over Kansas, Utah State and Air Force. The Pioneers have losses to Kansas State, Wisconsin and USC.
• The Pioneers finished last season 12-4 and earned a No. 37 ranking.
• Denver lost just one player from last year’s squad and have no newcomers this year.
• BYU defeated Denver last year in Provo, 4-3, to snap a five-match losing streak to the Pioneers. Denver came into the match as the No. 33 ranked team in the nation. Sophomores Emilee Astle and Helen Jiao played a crucial role in the Cougars’ upset, with Astle clinching the doubles point with Polina Malykh and Jiao collecting the deciding fourth point for BYU. The series between the two schools is tied 8-8.

Head Coach – Christian Bass

• Alma Mater: Notre Dame, 2007
• Division I Career Record: 120-46 (8th Season)
• Record at Denver: 120-46 (8th Season)

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)
7. Anastasia Abramyan & Helen Jiao (1-0)
8. Leah Heimuli & Emilee Astle (0-1)
9. Qianxin Kong & Kara Lin (1-0)

BYU Singles Records

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

Colorado Match Information — February 19

Time: 2:00 p.m. MST

Location: South Campus Tennis Complex, Boulder, Colorado

Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Denver Match Information — February 20

Time: 12:00 p.m. MST

Location: Denver Tennis Park, Denver, Colorado