BYU Loses Battle of Cougars, 4-3

LEWISTON -- The No. 49 BYU women's tennis team (4-4) lost to No. 44 Washington State (6-2) Friday as the Cougars of WSU were able to edge the Cougars of BYU 4-3.

"We really came out strong and played well in doubles," said BYU head coach Craig Manning. "But Washington State fought back and really played tough at all six singles positions."

BYU started the match off capturing the doubles point by winning two of the three matches. Seniors Dominique Reynolds and Liza Klempner came out strong and beat Lorena Arias and Chris Martinez 8-6 at the No. 1 spot. Olga Boulytcheva and Rebecca Pike captured the other doubles victory for BYU at the No. 3 position by beating Annabel Stefanchuk and Orsolya Sallai 8-3. Nicole Schneider and Hadley MacFarlane dropped their first dual match of the season in doubles at the No. 2 spot when they lost to Nora Gaal and Zsofi Fodor in a tough match that ended 9-7

WSU rallied in singles and was able to win the match by capturing four of six singles matches. Freshmen Boulytcheva and MacFarlane were the lone Cougars to win in singles. Boulytcheva beat Martinez 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 at the No. 3 spot and MacFarlane remained unbeaten in dual match play by beating Zorana Roganovic 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 6 spot. MacFarlane is now 8-0 in singles since the regular season started in January.

"We really got some good play out of our freshman today," said Manning. "We just need to bounce back and focus on our match tomorrow with Washington."

BYU will be back in action tomorrow morning as they take on No. 20 Washington at 11 a.m. in Lewiston, Idaho.

No. 42 Washington State defeats No. 49 BYU, 4-3.
SINGLES
1. Orsolya Sallai (WSU) def. Dominique Reynolds (BYU)	 	 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
2. Lorena Arias (WSU) def. Liza Klempner (BYU)		 	       7-5, 6-2
3. Olga Boulytcheva (BYU) def. Chris Martinez (WSU)		    3-6, 7-5, 6-4
4. Nora Gaal (WSU) def. Rebecca Pike (BYU)			            6-4, 6-1
5. Annabel Stefanchuk (WSU) def. Nicole Schneider (BYU) 	6-4, 7-5
6. Hadley MacFarlane (BYU) def. Zorana Roganovic (WSU)	  6-3, 6-2
DOUBLES
1. Reynolds/Klempner (BYU) def. Arias/Martinez (WSU) 		  8-6
2. Fodor/Gaal (WSU) def. MacFarlane/Schneider (BYU) 		   9-7
3. Pike/Boulytcheva (BYU) def. Stefanchuk/Sallai (WSU) 		8-3

PROVO -- After five straight home matches, the No. 49 BYU women's tennis team will be on the road this weekend as they play No. 20 Washington on Friday (Feb. 28) and No. 44 Washington State (Mar. 1) in Pullman, Wash. On Monday (Mar. 3) the Cougars will be in California to take on No. 16 Fresno State.

"This is a big part of the season for us," said BYU head coach Craig Manning. "We are going to play three ranked teams this weekend and they will all be tough matches. We just need to focus on the present and take each match one at a time."

The Cougars come into this weekend after beating No. 33 Wisconsin 4-3 at home last weekend.

"Last week's win over Wisconsin has helped us build more confidence and it reinforced that what we're working on in practice is paying off on the court," said Manning. "Against the tough teams we're going to face this weekend, we just need to focus on the fundamentals and on getting the job done."

The Cougars will first face No. 20 Washington on Friday. Last year, BYU beat Washington 4-3 in a tough match in which the Cougars dropped the doubles point before coming back to capture four of the six singles matches.

On Saturday, BYU will play Washington State. WSU has won both of the previous meetings with BYU, including a 4-3 victory over BYU last season. WSU has won five of its last six matches with big wins over Penn State, Boise State and MWC opponent New Mexico.

After spending the weekend in Washington, the Cougars will be playing Fresno State on Monday. The Bulldogs (4-3) are currently ranked No. 16 in the nation, their best ranking of the year. It is the highest they have been ranked since March 19, 2002, when the Bulldogs were also No. 16.

"This is a big weekend for our team," said Manning. "If we play up to our potential and play great tennis, I know we can win. Hopefully we are peaking at the right time."

After this weekend's road trip, BYU will be home next weekend as the Cougars host No. 19 Notre Dame on Saturday (Mar. 8) at 3 p.m.