BYU opens WCC play this weekend against Portland and Gonzaga

PROVO, Utah -- The Cougar women's tennis team opens West Coast Conference play this weekend on the road with back-to-back matches. BYU is at Portland Friday, Feb. 23 and at Gonzaga on Saturday, Feb. 24. The match vs. the Pilots starts at 10 a.m. PST while the match against the Bulldogs begins at 11:00 a.m. PST.

BYU (3-2) looks to start conference play off on the right foot after a close loss to Denver. Sophomore Polina Malykh earned BYU's only singles victory against the Pioneers. Malykh remains undefeated in regular season singles play at the No. 5 slot.

In its last match, Portland (1-4) played at No. 24 Washington where the Pilots suffered a 5-0 loss to the Huskies. Portland was selected to finish ninth in the WCC Preseason Poll. The Cougars are 7-1 against the Pilots all-time.

Gonzaga (7-2) swept Eastern Washington, 7-0 this past Saturday to win its fourth straight dual match. The nation's 29th ranked doubles duo Sophie Whittle and Graciela Rosasa of Gonzaga had a 6-1 win and moved to 8-1 on the year. The WCC coaches voted the Bulldogs to finish third in the Preseason Poll, just a spot ahead of the Cougars. BYU is 4-3 in the series with Gonzaga.

Live video and stats for Friday's match against Portland can be found at the Pilot's online schedule. The same can be found for Saturday's match versus Gonzaga on the Bulldog's online schedule.