DURHAM, North Carolina (May 11, 2001) -- The 29th-ranked BYU women's tennis team (15-9) started off their match against 28th-ranked Alabama (16-9) by winning the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead, but they couldn't hold on, losing four of five singles matches and fall to the Crimson Tide, 4-2, at Duke Tennis Stadium on Friday morning.

Jodi Richardson and Brooke Ferney, ranked No. 25 in the country, took on Emma Berard and Dominique Glinzler, ranked No. 44, at the top spot in doubles. Richardson and Ferney won, 8-4, and at the two spot, BYU's Dominique Reynolds and Liza Khoudoiarova defeated Becca Baum and Jenny Ketchum, 8-4.

In singles, the Cougars didn't fare as well, losing the first three matches before Ferney defeated Weyli Chang, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 at the four spot to bring the match score to 3-2. But, at No. 1 singles, 44th-ranked Richardson lost to 42nd-ranked Berard, 7-6, 6-2, to finish off the Cougars.

Despite losing the match, the Cougars finished a successful season that saw them go undefeated in the Mountain West Conference, earn Player of the Year and Coach of the Year honors and win the MWC Tournament.

Alabama advances to the second round to meet the winner of No. 2 Duke/No. 73 Campbell on Saturday at 2 p.m. The winner will advance to the round of 16 to be held in Stone Mountain, Georgia next week.

RESULTS:

BYU 2 Alabama 4

Singles:

Alabama wins 4 of 5 singles to win the match, 4-2

#1 Emma Berard (42) def. Jodi Richardson (44) 7-6, 6-2 ALA

#2 Selia Mathew def. Dominique Reynolds 6-2, 6-2 ALA

#3 Jenny Ketchum vs. Lu Oswald DNF

#4 Brooke Ferney def. Weyli Chang 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 BYU

#5 Dominique Glinzler def. Lindsey Ferrell 6-3, 6-4 ALA

#6 Becca Baum def. Elizaveta Khoudoiarova 6-2, 6-4 ALA

Doubles:

BYU wins doubles point, 2-1

#1 Richardson/Ferney (25) def. Berard/Glinzler (44) 8-4 BYU

#2 Reynolds/Khoudoiarova def. Baum/Ketchum 8-4 BYU

#3 Chang/Mathew def. Ferrell/Oswald 8-6 ALA

After winning both the regular season Mountain West Conference Title and the MWC tournament, the 29th-ranked BYU women's tennis team will travel to Duke University in Durham, NC, to play in one of 16-four team Regionals, May 11-12.

The No. 3 seed Cougars (15-8, 10-0 MWC) will take on No. 2 seed and 28th-ranked Alabama (15-9, 5-8 SEC) in the first round. The other two teams competing in Durham are No. 1 seed and 2nd-ranked Duke and its first round draw, No. 4 seed and 73rd-ranked Cambell University.

The women's team automatically qualified for the NCAA Tournament after winning the Mountain West Conference Tournament on April 28. The women, as the No. 1 seed in their tournament, defeated No. 7 Wyoming, No. 4 New Mexico, then No. 2 San Diego State in Ft. Collins to claim the crown.

The Cougars are undefeated in conference play and head coach Craig Manning was honored as MWC Coach of the Year, while senior Jodi Richardson was named MWC Player of the Year.

If the women defeat Alabama in the first round on Friday, they will face the winner of the Duke/Cambell match on May 12.

The regional winners will advance to the round of 16 in Stone Mountain, Georgia on May 17-20.

Jodi Richardson is the No. 1 player for the Cougars. She is ranked No. 44 nationally and has played the top spot for BYU most of the year.

Also, Brooke Ferney and Richardson are ranked No. 25 in doubles. Dominique Reynolds and Lu Oswald have also played strong for the Cougars.

Richardson will compete in the women's singles championship, as well as the double championship with teammate Brooke Ferney, in a field of 64 at Stone Mountain, Georgia, May 17-20.

Alabama comes in just ahead of BYU as the 28th-ranked team in the nation. They have one ranked player in Mirela Vladulescu at No. 20. In doubles, Vladulescu and Monika Schmid team up to form the 45th-ranked doubles team.

The Crimson Tide went 15-9 on the season, including two wins over No. 32 Mississippi State and wins over No. 34 Mississippi and No. 40 Arkansas.

Duke University comes to Alabama as the No. 2 team in the nation. They have four singles players ranked in the top 35, including No. 2 Ansley Cargill. Other ranked players include Amanda Johnson at No. 10, Kathy Sell at No. 30 and Megan Miller at No. 31.

Johnson teams with Miller to form the ninth-ranked doubles team in the nation.

The Blue Devils have only lost one match this season, a 4-1 defeat at the hands of then No. 2 Georgia in February.

Campbell University, also from North Carolina, is ranked No. 73 in the nation and come to Alabama with a 21-2 record on the season.

With no seniors and only one junior, the Camels are led by sophomores Carmen Linder (11-11), Kerstin Stockinger (14-7) and Laurence Poujoulat (16-4).

For the complete tournament brackets and results, go to the official BYU women's tennis Web site at byucougars.com.