No. 61 Cougars Get Big Win Versus No. 32 Wisconsin

PROVO -- After a tough loss on Monday, the No. 64 BYU women's tennis team (4-3) bounced back quickly and beat No. 32 Wisconsin 4-3 on Friday.

"They are a deep team so this is a big win for us," said BYU head coach Craig Manning. "I thought everyone really gave a good effort. We played good singles and tough doubles."

The Cougars started the match off strong by winning all three doubles matches. Seniors Dominique Reynolds and Liza Klempner had a tough match but they rattled off five straight games at the No. 1 spot to beat Linde Mues and Lara Vojnov 8-3. The undefeated tandem of Nicole Schneider and Hadley MacFarlane of BYU kept their unbeaten streak alive by taking care of Shana McElroy and Katie McGaffigan 8-6 at the No. 2 position. Rebecca Pike and Olga Boulytcheva completed the sweep by beating Lindsay Martin and Teresa Gonzaga 8-4 at No. 3.

In singles, the Cougars continued to play well. Reynolds beat Mues 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 1 spot and Pike beat Martin 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 4. But the result of the match came down to MacFarlane's match at the No. 6 position. MacFarlane, who is undefeated in singles on the season, beat Teresa Gonzaga 6-4, 6-3 to win the match for BYU. She is 7-0 on the season in both singles and doubles.

"The win today was great," Manning said. "Our team chemistry has been outstanding and the girls have really been playing well. With all the injuries going on, it's nice to still be competitive at every position. I think our team really deserved this win today."

The win over Wisconsin gives BYU a record of 4-3 on the season. The Cougars will be on the road next week when they travel to play Washington and Washington State.

Doubles
Reynolds/Klempner (BYU) def. Mues/Vojnov (UW) 		         8-3
MacFarlane/Schneider (BYU) def. McElroy/McGaffigan (UW)	 8-6
Pike/Boulytcheva (BYU) def. Martin/Gonzaga (UW)		        8-4
Singles
Dominique Reynolds (BYU) def. Linde Mues (UW)			         6-3, 6-1
Shana McElroy (UW) def. Liza Klempner (BYU)			           7-5, 7-5
Katie McGaffigan (UW) def. Olga Boulytcheva (BYU)		      7-5, 6-3
Rebecca Pike (BYU) def. Lindsay Martin (BYU)			          4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Lara Vojnov (UW) def. Nicole Schneider (BYU)			          6-1, 6-4
Hadley MacFarlane (BYU) def. Teresa Gonzaga (UW)	        6-4, 6-3

PROVO -- The No. 61 BYU women's tennis team (3-3) concludes its five-match home stand this Friday when the Cougars take on No. 32 Wisconsin at 11 a.m. on the BYU indoor courts.

The Cougars have won three of the last four matches played in Provo and are looking to add another win this weekend. The three wins have all come against Utah schools -- Utah State, Weber State and Utah. BYU head coach Craig Manning knows that Wisconsin will be a challenge for his team.

"They're going to be really tough," Manning said. "They really don't have any superstars but they are really deep all the way through the lineup."

Depth is something BYU started the season with, but injuries to key players have left Manning with the challenge of having enough players to compete.

"We have already lost Lindsay (Ferrell) and Lu (Oswald), and now Olga (Boulytcheva) has been dealing with some injuries," Manning said. "But we will be playing at home and that is always a big advantage."

The Cougars played the Badgers last year in Wisconsin. The Badgers were able to defeat BYU 5-2 despite the Cougars winning the doubles point.

After this week's match with Wisconsin, the Cougars will be on the road next weekend against Washington and Washington State.