Doubles Point The Difference In Loss To No. 8 Fresno State

PROVO -- The doubles point was the difference Saturday as No. 36 BYU lost to No. 8 Fresno State, 4-3, in the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts. The Cougars drop to 12-8 on the season and remain a perfect 7-0 in the conference.

All three doubles matches were closely contested, but Fresno State came out on top in all three matches to win the point. Jodi Richardson and Brooke Ferney lost a close one to Kim Niggemeyer and Simone Jardim, 9-7.

"A couple of shots made the difference in the match," said BYU coach Craig Manning. "We had the opportunities to win and we barely missed. You can't come any closer to winning and that was without Nikki (Dominique Reynolds). Her absence affected two spots in doubles and nearly everyone in singles."

Reynolds sat out Friday's and Saturday's matches due to a mild ankle sprain, but will return for the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

The Cougars and the Bulldogs split the six singles matches to finish the contest 4-3. BYU came out by winning the first two matches at the No. 3 and 4 spots to take a 2-1 lead, but the Bulldogs then won the next three to ensure the victory, before Lindsay Ferrell defeated Kelly Ramirez, 6-3, 7-6 in the final match.

BYU will not compete again until the conference tournament at Colorado State on April 26. BYU will be the top seed in the tournament at 7-0 on the year.

"We feel good going into the tournament," said Manning. "We're undefeated in the conference, but we can play better."

RESULTS: BYU 3 Fresno State 4

Singles:

#1 Kim Niggemeyer def. Jodi Richardson 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 FSU

#2 Liesl Fichtbauer def. Lu Oswald 7-6, 6-3 FSU

#3 Brooke Ferney def. Simone Jardim 7-5, 6-0 BYU

#4 Liza Khoudoiarova def. Chantel Wiggins 6-1, 6-0 BYU

#5 Lindsay Ferrell def. Kelly Ramirez 6-3, 7-6 BYU

#6 Courtney Jantz def. Elyse Jensen 6-1, 6-0 FSU

Doubles:

#1 Niggemeyer/Jardim def. Richardson/Ferney 9-7 FSU

#2 Jantz/Fichtbauer def. Oswald/Ferrell 8-6 FSU

#3 Wiggins/Ramirez def. Khoudoiarova