Cougars sweep Pacific to gain WCC tournament berth

Box Score

PROVO, Utah – Senior Nicolette Poulsen and junior Savannah Ware led the BYU women's tennis team in a 4-0 victory over Pacific on Saturday's senior day match.

"The girls played well today and had really good energy in doubles," BYU head coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. "Nicolette and Savannah did well and closed out the win for us. In singles it started off close, but we did a great job keeping the energy up. Pacific is a tough team that keeps a lot of balls in play, but we stuck to our game plan and played really well today."

The Cougars claim a spot in the West Coast Conference tournament after finishing in the top six in the conference with four WCC victories.

Poulsen and Ware helped BYU (6-15, 4-5 WCC) take the doubles point with a 6-1 victory at second singles over Pacific's Mayaan Sela and Sabrina Rodriguez. Down a player due to injury, the Tigers played the match with only five players, forfeiting one matchup in both singles and doubles.

In singles, with the Cougars ahead 2-0, junior Mayci Jones finished first at the No. 1 spot, winning 6-3, 6-3 over Sela. Ware finished second, clinching the match with a 6-2, 6-2 win on court No. 3 against Rodriguez.

Playing No. 2 for BYU, Poulsen was a point away from finishing off the Tigers' Saenz de Buruaga, with the score unfinished at 6-4, 5-4 as the match ended. Junior Natella Nabieva, playing fourth singles for BYU, was also a game short of a win, finishing with a 6-3, 5-4 advantage over Yuki Asami.

"The conference is tough this year and everyone has been beating each other," Jones said. "We're looking forward to playing in the conference tournament, and at this point, we're playing some of our best tennis of the year."

The WCC tournament begins Thursday, April 27, in Claremont, California. Once released, specific match details will be posted to the BYU schedule page.  

BYU 4, Pacific 0

Singles competition

1. Mayci Jones (BYU) def. Maayan Sela (PAC) 6-3, 6-3

2. Nicolette Poulsen (BYU) vs. C Saenz De Buruaga (PAC) 7-5, 5-2, unfinished

3. Savannah Ware (BYU) def. Sabrina Rodriguez (PAC) 6-2, 6-2

4. Natella Nabieva (BYU) vs. Yuki Asami (PAC) 6-3, 5-4, unfinished

5. Anneroos Nederstigt (PAC) vs. Taylah Beckman (BYU) no result

Doubles competition

1. Anneroos Nederstigt/C Saenz De Buruaga (PAC) def. Mayci Jones/Taylah Beckman (BYU) 4-2

2. Savannah Ware/Nicolette Poulsen (BYU) def. Maayan Sela/Sabrina Rodriguez (PAC) 6-1

Order of finish: Doubles (2); Singles (1,3)