Cougars snap losing streak with 4-3 victory over Pacific

STOCKTON, Calif. – In a West Coast Conference matchup on Friday, the BYU women’s tennis team pulled out a 4-3 victory over Pacific at the Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center.

“It was a hot day in Northern California and I am proud of the way we battled and fought through," said BYU head coach Holly Parkinson Halser. "Pacific is a steady team that made us play a lot of balls, and the girls kept fighting until the end. This was a great warm up and confidence builder for a match against St. Mary’s tomorrow, an even tougher opponent."

Junior Polina Malykh extended her lengthy winning streak to 14 matches with a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 2 singles over Pacific’s Maya Lopez. Sophomore Anastasia Abramyan also extended a winning streak, notching her second in a row over the Tigers’ Anneroos Nederstigt, 7-5, 7-5, at the No. 1 position.

BYU is now 11-9 overall and 4-4 in conference while Pacific falls to  4-13, 1-7.

The Cougars took a commanding lead, downing Pacific in all three doubles matches. At No. 1, Abramyan and Kate Cusick defeated Nederstigt and Ioana Pepescu, 6-2 while BYU’s Madeline Almeida and Malykh defeated their opponents, Karina Vyrlan and Anna Ramos-Vinolas, with the same score in No. 2 doubles. Taylah Beckman and Samantha Smith beat Lopez and Sabrina Rodriguez, 6-2.

Madeline Almeida won the final match for the Cougars. After falling in the second set to Ramos-Vinolas, Almeida came back to win 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 in No. 3 singles.

In the other singles matches BYU's Cusick fell to Pacific’s Vyrlan 1-6, 5-7 at the No. 2 spot. The Cougars’ Beckman lost in a tight three-set match, 5-7, 7-5, 4-6, to Georgia Townsend at No. 5 while Smith lost to the Tigers’ Popescu, 5-7, 5-7, in No. 6 singles.

The Cougars compete in their final regular season match against Saint Mary’s on Saturday, April 20, at 11 a.m. at the Timothy Korth Tennis Complex.

Doubles

1. Anastasia Abramyan/Kate Cusick (BYU) def. Anneroos Nederstigt/Ioana Popescu (PAC) 6-2
2. Madeline Almeida/Polina Malykh (BYU) def. Karina Vyrlan/Anna Ramos-Vinolas (PAC) 6-2
3. Taylah Beckman/Samantha Smith (BYU) def. Maya Lopez/Sabrina Rodriguez (PAC) 6-4

Order of finish: 1, 3, 2

Singles

1. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) def. Anneroos Nederstigt (PAC) 7-5, 7-5
2. Karina Vyrlan (PAC) def. Kate Cusick (BYU) 6-1, 7-5
3. Polina Malykh (BYU) def. Maya Lopez (PAC) 6-1, 6-1
4. Madeline Almeida (BYU) def. Anna Ramos-Vinolas (PAC) 6-3, 3-6, 6-0
5. Georgia Townsend (PAC) def. Taylah Beckman (BYU) 7-5, 5-7, 6-4
6. Ioana Popescu (PAC) def. Samantha Smith (BYU) 7-5, 7-5

Order of finish: 3, 2, 1, 6, 4, 5