SALT LAKE -- The No. 40 BYU women's tennis team was defeated 6-1 by in-state rival No. 63 Utah on Saturday as Mountain West Conference play came to a close. With the loss the Cougars fall to 13-11 on the season and 5-3 in league play. Saturday also marked the first time since 1992 that Utah has defeated BYU, snapping a 16-year Cougar winning streak.

Utah jumped out to an early lead after winning two doubles matches to claim the point. The pair of Dolly Chang and Kristina Doerr were the first to fall, suffering an 8-3 loss to Erin Monson and Andrea Maughan. Anastasia Surkova and Elizaveta Ezhova came back to tie their match at three-games-all after being down 3-0, but were unable to secure a win (8-6). The Cougars' only doubles win came at the No. 3 position as Chie Hayasaka and Elle Carney handily defeated Leigh Walsh and Karine Bourdages, 8-3.

Moving into singles play, the Utes defended their home courts by winning five straight matches. Despite holding an early 2-1 lead, BYU's Chang lost five straight games, allowing Bourdages to take the first set. The Ute continued her streak, eventually winning 6-2, 6-0.

After No. 112 Doerr fell 6-2, 6-4 on the second court, Utah's Walsh clinched the overall win for her team by defeating Ezhova 6-1, 6-3. With the result of the match already decided, Carney was the last Cougar to fall, dropping a 6-4, 6-0 match to Maughan.

As the only match remaining, No. 63 Surkova found herself in battle against No. 41 Elizabeth Ferris. After losing the first set 6-2, Surkova returned the favor by claiming the second set 6-4 and forcing a tie-breaker, which she won 10-7. The senior was able to redeem the loss she suffered to Ferris in their last meeting in 2007.

The Cougars are now tied for fourth place in the MWC standings as they prepare to enter the MWC Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas next week.

RESULTS
#63 Utah 6, #40 BYU 1
Singles:
1. #63 Anastasia Surkova (BYU) def. #54 Elizabeth Ferris (Utah); 2-6, 6-4 (10-7)
2. Emily Kwok (Utah) def. #112 Kristina Doerr (BYU); 6-2, 6-4
3. Erin Monson (Utah) def. Chie Hayasaka (BYU); 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
4. Leigh Walsh (Utah) def. Elizaveta Ezhova (BYU); 6-1, 6-3
5. Karine Bourdages (Utah) def. Dolly Chang (BYU); 6-2, 6-0
6. Andrea Maughan (Utah) def. Elle Carney (BYU); 6-4, 6-0
Order of finish: 5, 2, 4*, 6, 3, 1
Doubles:
1. #41 Ferris/Kwok (Utah) def. Surkova/Ezhova (BYU); 8-6
2. Maughan/Monson (Utah) def. Chang/Doerr (BYU); 8-3
3. Hayasaka/Carney (BYU) def. Bourdages/Walsh (Utah); 8-3
Order if finish: 2, 1*, 3
*Determining win

PROVO -- The Deseret First Duel will resume on Saturday as the No. 40 BYU women's tennis team (13-10, 5-2 MWC) heads to Salt Lake City, ending its regular-season competition against in-state rival Utah. The women hope to improve on BYU's current 28-24.5 lead in the Duel series, especially after the men's team suffered a close loss to the Utes in Provo last weekend.

Leading the Cougars will be senior Anastasia Surkova, the nation's 63rd-ranked singles player. Surkova will likely face off against Utah's No. 54 Elizabeth Ferris, who defeated the Russian native 7-6, 6-4 in Provo last season.

The Utes fell to 13-8 overall and 4-3 in Mountain West Conference play after being swept 7-0 by TCU last Saturday. Ferris, together with fellow senior Emily Kwok, have teamed up to form the No. 41 doubles pair in the country. In their last outing, the duo pulled a major upset over TCU's No. 12-ranked Macall Harkins and Anna Sydorska.

Saturday marks the first meeting between Utah and BYU women's tennis since the inception of the Deseret First Duel. The Duel uses a system that awards points to the winner of each head-to-head competition between the two schools. A team trophy is awarded to the individual winner of each sport -- football, basketball, softball, etc. Points won by the individual sports count toward each school's overall total. At the conclusion of each school year, a granite traveling trophy will be awarded to the overall rivalry series champion.

With a win over Utah, the Cougars, who are currently in fourth place in the MWC standings, have a chance to move up and make it a three-way tie for second place with UNLV and New Mexico. Doing so would improve BYU's seeding heading into the conference tournament on April 23-26.

Saturday's match is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. MT at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center.